A pressure group known as AOJOKO K’Otukpo (Special Advisers to Otukpo Kingdom Paramount ruler) has said Arch. Sonny Echono, Executive Secretary (ES) Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) was revamping the country’s tertiary education.
Mr Ojoko Ekwo, the Chairman of the group disclosed this on Sunday at a press conference in Makurdi.
Ekwo, who was reacting to a media publications criticising Echono for awarding contacts without the existence of a board, said ES needed the support of all Nigerians to succeed.
He said that though TETFUND was yet to have a consituted board, there were lay down provisions which empowered the management of the organisation to award contracts in such situations.
According to him, with or without the existence of a board, TETFUND can not standstill but rather continue to work in line with the lay down laws.
“The present allegations against Arch. Echono, which border on his awarding contracts in the absence of a board, raises some pertinent questions: should an organization stand still simply because there is no board?; in the absence of a board, is there no institutional laid down rule?; were such rules not followed?
“The tone of the media outburst indicates that in their hurry to cause public outcry and disaffection against Echono, they failed to do a thorough investigation.
“Even TETFUND responded to their inquiries, they went ahead with their already written report, making it look as if they were sponsored to do so.
“They did not even bother to find out anything from the Ministry of Education which supervises TETFUND.
“Echono should be left alone to continue the giant strides in educational development by rejuvenating dilapidated facilities and infrastructure in tertiary institutions, for which he is already being applauded by well meaning Nigerians,” he said
Ekwo noted that corruption was only fighting back as those criticizing the ES were agents of those, who have over the years reaped the country dry through TETFUND in which Echono has now blocked.
He further called on the Ministry of Education and President Bola Tinubu to disregard such publications and continue support the ES to succeed.
“We call on all well meaning Nigerians Nigerians to rise up against the pull-him-down syndrome masquerading in frivolous allegations against a known performer, a man who has rightly been described as a Progressive Innovator by the President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina,” he said.
By Favour Lashem-NAN
