The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has announced its partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to ensure uninterrupted power supply in universities and other tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, made this commitment during a courtesy visit by the Managing Director of REA, Salihijo Ahmad, in Abuja.
Echono emphasized the significance of consistent power supply in tertiary institutions, highlighting the commendable efforts of the Energizing Education Programme (EEP) by REA in selected universities and teaching hospitals nationwide.
He stated, “There is no overstating the importance of this issue as we strive to improve not only the physical infrastructure but also the ICT infrastructure and research facilities in our institutions. Many of these require a constant power supply. Certain samples need to be maintained at specific temperatures for extended periods. There are medical laboratory operations that cannot afford a single second of power outage.”
Echono further urged REA to address any challenges encountered in implementing the EEP project in beneficiary institutions. He also expressed TETFund’s intention to explore the possibility of securing longer-term financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for future editions of the program, as it would enable them to achieve more.
Meanwhile, Salihijo Ahmad confirmed that the EEP, which aims to provide sustainable and clean power supply to 37 federal universities and seven university teaching hospitals, has already commenced in 24 universities and select teaching hospitals.
