Tech-U Commissions N1.3bn TETFund Staff Office Building

The Abiola Ajimobi Technical University (Tech-U), Ibadan, has taken delivery of a newly completed N1.3 billion staff office building constructed under the intervention programme of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

The facility, designed to provide additional office accommodation for academic staff, was formally handed over to the university at a ceremony attended by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adesola Ajayi; Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Caleb Aborisade; Registrar, Mrs Olanrewaju Omolola; University Librarian, Dr Rahaman Akingbade; and Bursar, Kehinde Ayantoye.

Also present were members of the Governing Council, deans, directors, heads of departments and other senior officials of the institution.

The building comprises three categories of offices, including 10 professorial offices with spaces for research assistants, 10 ensuite single professorial offices and 14 offices allocated to other senior lecturers.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor described the completion of the project as a major achievement for the university, stressing that inadequate office accommodation had remained a challenge for academic staff since the institution’s establishment.

Professor Ajayi said the project was even more significant given TETFund’s policy directing universities that had benefited from its interventions for over five years to channel subsequent allocations towards the maintenance of existing infrastructure rather than the construction of new facilities.

He explained that Tech-U was able to secure approval to use its intervention allocation for the construction of the staff office building, making the university one of the few institutions in that category to obtain such approval.

According to him, the university had prioritised staff office accommodation as one of its critical infrastructure needs, noting that some spaces currently being used as offices were not originally designed for such purposes.

The Vice-Chancellor commended the consultant, contractor, Mr Kayode Durojaye of Kadex Express Limited, the university’s maintenance team, project advisory committee and Chief Engineer, Akintunde Olugbenga, for their roles in ensuring the successful completion of the project.

He also acknowledged the contributions of the university management, particularly the Registrar, Bursar and their respective teams, for the administrative and financial support provided throughout the execution of the project.

Professor Ajayi expressed optimism about the continued development of the institution, saying the university would pursue additional TETFund interventions to meet other pressing infrastructure requirements.

He, however, appealed to the contractor to extend his support to the university under his corporate social responsibility by assisting with the connection of the new building to electricity.

Also speaking, the Consultant, Abdulateef Majolagbe of APD Consult, praised the university management for its cooperation and proactive engagement during the construction of the facility.

Majolagbe said the strong working relationship among the university, consultant and contractor played an important role in the successful completion and delivery of the project.

In his remarks, the contractor, Kayode Durojaiye, appreciated the university’s management and supervision team for their support during the construction process.

He noted that despite fluctuations in the prices of building materials in the country, concerted efforts were made to ensure that the project was completed and delivered to the institution.

The ceremony ended with a guided inspection of the new facility, followed by a group photograph.