FG disburses N200bn intervention fund to varsities

The federal government, yesterday in Abuja, presented letters of allocation of the N200 billion intervention funds to all the country’s public universities.

The Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, made the presentation at a meeting with vice-chancellors of universities in Abuja.

Wike said the federal government was committed to improving university education and expressed the hope that the benefiting universities would take advantage of the opportunity to take their institutions to the desired level.
The minister tasked the universities to ensure that the funds were used in improving infrastructure in the schools and expressed
hope that the money would be fully utilised within the year.

He also disclosed government’s plans to give a public account of what tertiary institutions were doing from next month.
Wike said it was imperative that the public know how much government was investing in the country’s tertiary education and correct the impression that it was neglecting the sector.

He said exercise would be conducted in the six geo-political zones of the country beginning from March 4, 2014.
According to him, the exercise would kick-off with the North-central zone at the Federal College of Agriculture, Makurdi.

The minister said the South-east zone would converge at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, on March 11, 2014, while the University of Port Harcourt would be host to the South on March 10, 2013.