- TETFund’s Arc. Sonny Echono expressed concern over universities facing monthly electricity bills of N300 million to N400 million, urging intervention
- Echono announced discussions with the Ministry of Power to explore alternative energy sources as universities struggle with exorbitant electricity costs
The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, has raised concerns over the excessive electricity bills charged to universities, with some institutions receiving bills between N300 million and N400 million in a single month. Echono highlighted the unsustainable nature of these charges and called for urgent intervention during a meeting with a delegation from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), led by its National President, Comrade Lucky Emonefe, in Abuja on Monday.
Echono revealed that TETFund has initiated discussions with the Ministry of Power to address this issue. “It will be one of the major issues we will look at when we call our major stakeholders meeting of all heads of schools. We have to put our heads together to see how we need alternative power sources to reduce the burden. As I speak, some universities are getting N300 million and N400 million bills for electricity in one month. How can they cope? Some are even rationing; they have light for only four hours daily,” he said.
The Executive Secretary also urged Nigerian students to safeguard school infrastructure by preventing hoodlums from infiltrating campuses and causing damage. Echono detailed various infrastructure interventions to create a conducive learning environment for students across all tertiary institutions.
“I am urging you today to please be on the watch on all your campuses. All our TETFund assets, all the buildings that taxpayers’ money has been used to provide; not only should you ensure that you protect them, but nobody should go and destroy them. Let us not give chances to these hoodlums who will take advantage of your legitimate demands to cause havoc,” he stated.
Echono emphasized the importance of maintaining a stable academic calendar. “When President Bola Tinubu was told about frequent disruptions in the academic calendar, the president gave specific instructions to the minister that one of your first expectations is for us to have harmony in the sector so we can have a predictable academic calendar that our students will go to school and know when they will graduate and ensure that that is kept,” he said.
He also noted that President Tinubu had directed TETFund to improve student’s learning experience and quality of education. Additionally, after raising the issue of campus transportation, the president instructed TETFund to work with relevant agencies to convert existing buses to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and provide mass transit buses for students on campus as part of next year’s interventions.
NANS National President Emonefe acknowledged that NANS’s leadership has decided not to hold a national protest, recognizing that most of the benefits students currently enjoy were achieved through dialogue rather than protests.
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