By Abah Benjamin Eneojoh
Lokoja
A member representing the North-Central on the Board of Trustees of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Dr Abdulrahman Hassan Ocholi, has commended key stakeholders for their commitment to the development of tertiary education in the country.
Ocholi gave the commendation on Thursday at the 2026 TETFund North-Central Stakeholders’ Town Hall Meeting held in Lokoja, Kogi State.
He described the town hall as a vital platform for promoting dialogue, accountability and collaboration among TETFund, beneficiary institutions, governments, students, traditional rulers, host communities and other stakeholders in the education sector.
Ocholi lauded President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to tertiary education under the Renewed Hope Agenda, and commended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, for his leadership and support for policies that promote human capital development.
He also thanked Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo, for hosting the meeting.
Other stakeholders commended by Ocholi included the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa; Chairman, TETFund Board of Trustees, Aminu Masari; and the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono.
Speaking on TETFund’s interventions, Ocholi said the fund had made significant impact in academic staff development, research, innovation, entrepreneurship, digital transformation, postgraduate scholarships and infrastructure.
He said attention was now being shifted to emerging areas such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, coding and renewable energy.
Ocholi, however, noted that challenges facing tertiary institutions went beyond physical infrastructure, stressing the need for more investment in modern teaching facilities, research, digital technology and graduate employability.
Stakeholders at the meeting called for stronger collaboration between tertiary institutions and industries, increased funding for TETFund, improved accountability in the utilisation of intervention funds, and greater attention to the peculiar needs of institutions in the North-Central.
The meeting resolved to sustain regular stakeholder engagement and promote solution-driven research to address challenges in agriculture, mining, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, renewable energy and security.
A communique containing resolutions reached at the meeting was presented to Governor Ododo, who handed it over to the Minister of Information and National Orientation for onward transmission to President Tinubu.
The stakeholders also passed a vote of confidence in the SGF, Senator Akume; Ministers Alausa, Idris; Masari and Echono for their contributions to tertiary education.
Ocholi expressed optimism that the resolutions would strengthen the tertiary education system and position institutions in the zone to produce skills and innovations needed for sustainable development.
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