The Northern Youth Forum (NYF) under the leadership of Ahmed Garo has described the recent attacks on the leadership of Tertiary Education Trustfund (TETFund) as unwarranted and baseless.
He said the latest sinister plot is aimed at instigating the illegal removal of its executive secretary, thereby disrupting unnecessarily, the current reforms by the agency.
The group added that the menace against Architect Sonny Echono is deliberate as it is to cast aspersion and malign his person and office in order to achieve a sectional agenda.
The group said the move has become clear because a certain professor from the South-west zone of the country is currently being paraded as his replacement.
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.
Speaking at the 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 education 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 laudable developments in our tertiary education sector, some individuals are bent on orchestrating his removal from office for their pecuniary reasons.
He said Echono’s track records and achievements dates back to his years of experience as a seasoned administrator, having served the nation in different capacities in the past, adding 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 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.
“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 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 administration,” he said.
