Nigeria’s First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has commissioned the N1 billion South-East Zonal ICT Experience Centre at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State.
The facility, established under the Renewed Hope Initiative, is designed to equip students, lecturers and other beneficiaries with practical skills in digital literacy, software development, data science, multimedia, online learning, entrepreneurship and emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The centre is part of a N6 billion intervention by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to establish ICT Experience Centres across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with the aim of strengthening digital skills and human capital development in tertiary institutions.
Commissioning the facility on Thursday, Tinubu expressed appreciation for the opportunity to participate in the project and prayed for its lasting impact on the institution and future beneficiaries.
“I’m really honoured to do this and I pray that God continues to bless this community and generations ongoing. Amen,” she said.
The First Lady described the facility as an important investment in the future of Nigerian youths.
The commissioning took place alongside the launch of the National Community Food Bank Programme for the South-East Zone.
Earlier, the Chairman of the TETFund Board of Trustees, Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, said the Oko centre was part of a nationwide intervention approved by the board to establish an ICT Experience Centre in each of the six geopolitical zones.
Masari said TETFund had approved N1 billion for each zone, bringing the total investment to N6 billion, with selected universities, polytechnics and colleges of education as beneficiaries.
He said the centres would equip students and lecturers with digital skills in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics and software development.
“The Board of Trustees recognised the need to align Nigeria’s education system with emerging global technological and industry standards,” Masari said.
He said the intervention was aimed at improving graduate employability, promoting innovation and strengthening Nigeria’s participation in the global technology-driven economy.
Masari urged the management of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, to properly maintain and secure the facility and regularly upgrade its equipment in line with technological developments.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, described the centre as more than physical infrastructure, saying it represented an investment in people and Nigeria’s future.
“For us, the Centre represents much more than a physical facility. It is an investment in people; an investment in possibilities; and, ultimately, an investment in the future of Nigeria,” he said.
Echono said wider access to digital learning, innovation and technology would enable young Nigerians to turn ideas into solutions, skills into livelihoods and aspirations into opportunities.
He said the intervention was consistent with TETFund’s commitment to human capital development and the emergence of a knowledge-driven economy.
“We are therefore honoured to partner with the Renewed Hope Initiative in advancing an agenda that recognises our youth as not merely beneficiaries of development, but as principal actors in shaping Nigeria’s future,” he said.
Echono added that TETFund remained committed to ensuring that the ICT Experience Centres achieved their objectives of expanding digital inclusion, developing talent and creating new opportunities for Nigerian youths.
He said the ICT centre and the food bank programme reflected the Renewed Hope Agenda’s focus on placing people at the centre of development.
The Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Dr Chioma Irene Awuzie, described the commissioning as a landmark achievement for the institution and a demonstration of the First Lady’s commitment to empowering Nigerian youths through education, technology and innovation.
Awuzie said the ICT Experience Centre, together with the Chemical Engineering Building and Students’ Examination Centre, demonstrated the impact of TETFund interventions at the polytechnic.
She said the centre would provide students with access to digital skills, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, educational resources, technology, innovation and networking.
According to her, the facility would also help bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical technological experience, equipping students with skills needed to thrive in the 21st-century economy.
“The world is increasingly driven by technology, artificial intelligence, digital skills, innovation and knowledge. Our youths must therefore be equipped not merely to participate, but to excel and lead,”
