Zamfara Gov seeks increased TETFund intervention in state tertiary institutions

The Executive Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, has appealed to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for an increased intervention fund to boost infrastructural development in some state-owned tertiary institutions.

Lawal made the appeal on Thursday in Abuja during a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc Sonny Echono. He noted that apart from the poor financial standing of Zamfara, the state of emergency he recently declared in the education sector requires extensive funding support to succeed.

The Governor also sought TETFund’s support to complete some of the abandoned projects, especially at the State University, to expand access to university education in the state.

He underscored the urgency of addressing the pressing challenges within the state’s educational system, highlighting TETFund’s importance in that respect.

He said, “I came to say thank you to TETFund, but at the same time to ask for more intervention, considering the financial situation of the state.

“Remember, sometime in November, we declared an emergency in education, and that is why I’m here to continue to follow up wherever we can get help so that things will be better in Zamfara.”

Speaking on the security situation in the state, Lawal said security has become a major challenge, but he assured that the government is addressing it.

On his part, Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, assured that despite the security challenges in Zamfara State, the fund is doing a lot to ensure that education continues in the state.

He said TETFund is ensuring that every part of the country and every student has access to quality education.

Echono said, “The Governor came on an appreciation visit because we are doing a lot despite the security challenges in Zamfara. We want to make sure that education continues and that students in every part of the country have access to good quality education.

“He came with very specific requests, especially as they relate to state institutions. Zamfara, like many other states, is a beneficiary of our High-Impact projects, and he was advocating for us to complete some ongoing projects because they are facing funding challenges,” Echono said.

Echono added that some of the abandoned projects were initiated by successive governments and that the Governor wants TETFund to take them over and complete them.

According to him, the Governor felt that rather than starting new projects, completing the ongoing projects would be more beneficial to the state.

The TETFund boss, however, said the initial constraint in taking over such abandoned projects would be that TETFund would have to separate its projects from those solely embarked upon by the state.