The Ekiti State Government in Southwest Nigeria is seeking more collaboration with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Tetfund, to enhance productivity and eradicate poverty in the state through education and skills acquisition.
The state governor, Abiodun Oyebanji, stated this during a courtesy call with the executive secretary of Tetfund, Sonny Echono, in Abuja, Nigeria.
He said that the request is hinged on the understanding that the acquisition of the right knowledge and skills enhances productivity, which is the antidote to poverty.
“Ekiti State is the state of intellectuals. We believe strongly that if people are educated and have the right mix of knowledge, they will be productive, and we also believe strongly that the antidote to poverty is productivity, but for you to be productive, you also need the right skills.
“This is where education comes in, and this is where TETFUND plays a very big role in trying to provide the building blocks for knowledge acquisition, and we want to partner with Tetfund. We want to explore further areas of collaboration between the state government and Tetfund,” he said.
He commended Tetfund for supporting the state over the years, which has continued to put Ekiti State at the forefront of education in Nigeria.
“I have come principally to say thank you for all that you have been doing for Ekiti state, especially during the tenure of the immediate past government and for our campaign mantras on shared prosperity and contiguity, which we have been carrying out in the last year, thereby continually putting the state at the forefront of intellectuals,” he said.
The Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, while responding, assured that the collaboration will be deepened to enhance the education system in the state and create opportunity for the youths and the nation in general, taking into cognizance the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
“We look forward to deepening the partnership and collaborating with institutions in your state to move forward the great work that our president has brought on board, the renewed hope for our people, and to creating opportunities, especially for the youths, to expose themselves and contribute their quota to national development. We will all collectively grow this economy and have shared prosperity for everyone,” he said.
According to him, Tetfund is happy as both the state and federal government-owned institutions in Ekiti State are doing well with the agency’s funded projects, promising to expand the collaborations, especially in the area of cutting-edge research.
“We are very glad that the institutions owned by the states, as well as those by the federal government, are doing well concerning projects. We have given assurances that we’ll be expanding these areas of collaboration, especially in cutting-edge research.
“In areas of upgrading the facilities that will facilitate recognitions, partnerships, linkages with industry locally, with international partners, and other donor agencies, We want to be able to leverage this infrastructure, the faculty, and the quality of manpower to bring development to our country.”
He urged states across the country to emulate the continuity agenda of the Ekiti state government in the education system so that broken walls in the nation’s tertiary institutions can be rebuilt, thereby creating room for competitiveness among peers, retaining the best brains, and, through their research, developing new products, services, and the economy to improve the living standards of the citizenry.
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