By Felix Khanoba
The Northern Youth Forum (NYF) has uncovered the reason for the recent unwarranted attacks against the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono.
The group, under the leadership of Ahmed Garo, said the baseless attacks are a sinister plot aimed at instigating the removal of the Executive Secretary, thereby disrupting the current positive reforms undertaken by the Agency.
According to NYF, the menacing move against Echono is deliberate and nepotic in nature, to cast aspersion and malign his person and office, just to achieve a sectional agenda, as a certain professor, from the south-west zone of the country, is currently being paraded as his replacement.
In furtherance of this move, the group said frantic efforts are being made by the promoters of this ethnic agenda towards organizing a protest at the EFCC offices on Monday by 10 a.m..
Speaking at a press conference in Kano, Garo said the media attacks and planned protests in Lagos and Abuja are perceived to be orchestrated by some unscrupulous mischief makers who are bent on discrediting the achievements of Echono, whose efforts at charting reforms that have leapfrogged the tertiary education sector, have received accolades from educational stakeholders both within and outside the country.
Garo lamented that, rather than encourage the current leadership of TETFund to continue with its transformative agenda that has brought onboard laudable developments in our tertiary education sector, some individuals are bent on orchestrating his removal from office for their pecuniary reasons.
According to him, Echono’s track records and achievements date back to his years of experience as a seasoned administrator, having served the nation in different capacities in the past, stating that his contributions to the education sector should not be rubbished, under any guise, by people who are filled with parochial sentiments and envy over his achievements.
He, however, commended President Bola Tinubu for his recognition of talent and unwavering support for the tertiary education sector, as evidenced by the speedy approval given for this year’s intervention programmes by the Fund.
Garo called on the President to ignore the antics of these unpatriotic persons, whose agenda is aimed at truncating the reforms currently undertaken by the leadership of TETFUND, which are in tandem with his Renewed Hope Agenda, saying the achievements of TETFUND in recent times have brought succour to the tertiary education sub-sector.
His words, “If you look at the sustained improvements in performance across tertiary institutions in the country, be it universities, polytechnics, or colleges of education, you will agree with me that there are significant milestones, and if we allow the current leadership of TETFUND to effectively discharge its mandate, not only will this go a long way to sustain the tempo, but further deepen the infrastructural and academic architecture of our tertiary institutions as well as create an enduring legacy for the Tinubu-led administration.”
He therefore called on all Nigerians to join forces in condemning the attacks on the person of Echono, saying such acts will not only contribute to truncate ongoing reforms at TETFUND but further derail people’s chances of benefiting from the good initiatives of the Fund that are already maximizing efficiency in the tertiary education sub-sector.
