A group, under the auspices of Northern Youth Forum (NYF), has condemned what it described as unwarranted attacks on the leadership of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), allegedly to instigate illegal removal of the Executive Secretary of the Fund, Arc. Sonny Echono.
Speaking at a news conference on Sunday in Kano, Ahmed Garo, alleged that those behind the plot sponsored a false publication in an online medium alleging a N7.6 billion “questionable” contract.
Garo said the group also gathered reliably that the same people have perfected plans to sponsor a protest on Monday at 10 a.m. at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) offices in Lagos and Abuja against the leadership of TETFund.
“This unwarranted and baseless attack is the latest sinister plot against the Agency aimed at instigating the illegal removal of the Executive Secretary and thereby disrupting unnecessarily, the current reforms undertaken by the Agency,” he said
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He stressed that the menacing move against Echono was deliberate and nepotic, adding that it was to cast aspersion and malign his person and office, just to achieve a sectional agenda.
“In furtherance of this move, frantic efforts are being made by the promoters of this ethnic agenda towards organising a protest at the EFCC offices on Monday by 10 am.”
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 Sonny Echono, whose efforts at charting reforms that have leapfrog 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, which has brought on board laudable developments in the 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 Ahmed Tinubu for his recognition of talent and unwavering support for the tertiary education sector as evidenced in the speedy approval given for this year’s intervention programmes of the Fund.
Ahmed 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 he added were in tandem with the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He added that the achievements of TETFund in recent times have brought succour to the tertiary education sub-sector.
He said: “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.
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