The Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, has continued to receive accolades and awards for the outstanding leadership quality he brought to bear on the activities of the Fund.

Within two years of his appointment, Echono has introduced sweeping reforms aimed at improving service delivery both within the Fund and among beneficiary institutions across the country.

It is no longer news that the Fund under his leadership has boosted interventions in public tertiary institutions to improve learning and teaching, hence institutions within and outside Nigeria have continued to acknowledge him.

Recently, he won the Champion Newspapers’ “Outstanding Public Servant of the Year” award.

According to the organisers, the award was in recognition of his efforts in making TETFund an outstanding public service institution that is focused on upgrading the strategic status of tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

“The award, a product of the painstaking selection process of our Board of Editors, was our modest way of recognising you and other top leaders in the public and private sectors of the economy of this country, politicians and political office holders as well as leaders of democracy and the economy of Nigeria, who sacrificed greatly in ensuring that the objectives and ideals of our nationhood are sustained and improved upon.

“On all scores of good positive leadership indices, our findings, largely corroborated by that of our independent assessors, confirmed that you, Arc. Sonny Echono, in line with your vision of making TETFund an outstanding public service institution focused on upgrading the strategic status of our universities has indeed, sustained determined efforts in restoring hope, vibrancy and effective funding of our universities in a way that empowers them to be able to respond to the strategic challenges of university education in Nigeria.

“You have shown strong and effective professional character in your leadership of TETFund in a way that it has impacted tremendously on the overall well-being of our universities in Nigeria today,” the newspaper

Echono in his response, commended the management of Champion Newspapers for the recognition, and declared that the award would only spur him and his team to work harder to take the Fund to greater heights.

Speaking afterwards, he explained the crucial need for reforms in bridging funding gap and providing critical infrastructure in universities.

He recalled that since he came on board, he had embarked on a number of reforms to further make the agency work better and deliver on its mandate to the good people of Nigeria.

“We are aware of the role TETFund plays in the provision of infrastructure and critical facilities in our higher institutions, as well as the training of academic and non-academic staff.

“We are glad that testimonies from beneficiaries are positive and encouraging. However, because it is an agency that is known to be achieving a lot, and one that is responding to things in positive manner, we attract the attention of a lot of people.

“Of course, the magnitude of, and the nature of reforms that have been implemented are also going to affect some people adversely. We expect that such people would not feel comfortable but as a public servant, one requires to know that one must develop thick skin to baseless issues and move on to do the best you can,” he said.

Before that, the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) had also conferred an Award of Excellence on Echono for exemplary leadership in the education sector, quality assurance and services to humanity.

The award came at the association’s 5th National Delegates’ Conference held at the University of Abuja in April.

Speaking during the award ceremony, the National President of NAAT, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, commended the Executive Secretary for his contributions to the education sector, particularly the tertiary education sub-sector, where he oversees the affairs of TETFund.

Nwokoma noted that the Fund’s interventions in tertiary education under Echono’s leadership has resulted in the establishment of modern laboratories and upgrading of existing ones in public tertiary educational institutions in the country, as well as scholarships for members of the association.

In his reaction, the Executive Secretary expressed appreciation to the president and members of NAAT for the recognition, noting that it would further stimulate the Fund’s management to greater productivity.

While acknowledging the central role being played by the association in the management of workshops and laboratories in various academic institutions, Echono assured that the Fund would continue to provide support for acquisition of relevant equipment and resource infrastructure, especially with the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of an intervention for the purpose.

Echono’s commitment and determination to enhance capacity as well as make learning easy began as soon as he was appointed the helmsman of TETFund and in spite of calculated attempts to distract him, he has remained undaunted.