The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has inaugurated five capital projects worth N7 billion at Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) in Ikot Akpaden, Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.
Chairman of TETFund Board of Trustees, Alhaji Aminu Masari, commissioned the projects on Tuesday at the university’s Ikot Akpaden and Obio Akpan campuses.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the projects include lecture halls, administrative buildings, laboratories and convenience facilities aimed at enhancing teaching and learning.
Masari said the Fund had suspended foreign training programmes due to the rising cost of foreign exchange and was redirecting resources into homegrown interventions.
“Following the high foreign exchange rates and the rising cost of overseas training, TETFund has temporarily suspended foreign training programmes,” he said.
“We are channeling resources into impactful special interventions that will yield significant dividends in the near future.”
He described AKSU as one of the beneficiaries of TETFund’s consistent support, adding that the agency remained committed to funding infrastructure and academic development in public tertiary institutions.
“The essence of our interventions is to position our tertiary institutions to contribute towards national growth,” he said.
Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Nse Essien, commended TETFund for the projects, saying they were critical to the university’s capacity to innovate and conduct research.
“These facilities will promote innovation and allow us to undertake advanced research to address both regional and global challenges,” he said.
He appealed to TETFund and other development partners to further support the university with ICT infrastructure, digital libraries, student hostels, and postgraduate research facilities.
(NAN)