The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is set to receive additional support for its educational institutions through a renewed collaboration with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), aimed at boosting capacity building, research, and innovation within Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
This development emerged after the Chief of Air Staff, Sunday Aneke, visited the headquarters of TETFund in Abuja to strengthen the existing partnership between both institutions.
Support for NAF Educational Institutions
During the meeting, TETFund Executive Secretary Sonny Echono confirmed that the agency would continue to support NAF educational establishments through infrastructure development, research support, and staff training.
Aneke acknowledged the long-standing contributions of TETFund, noting that its interventions have significantly improved academic and technical training facilities across Air Force institutions. According to him, the partnership has also expanded opportunities for staff and students through research initiatives and professional development programmes.
Echono, in his response, described the Air Force as strategically important to both national security and education development, assuring that further interventions—including staff accommodation and infrastructure projects—are already planned for implementation this year.
First Lady to Champion Innovation Commercialisation
Meanwhile, Oluremi Tinubu, Nigeria’s First Lady, has been unveiled as the champion of a new Federal Government initiative designed to promote the commercialisation of locally developed innovations.
The programme, known as Energise Commercialisation, is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology. The minister, Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, announced the development during a visit to the First Lady at the State House in Abuja.
According to Udeh, the initiative aims to identify grassroots innovations across the country and support their transformation into market-ready products and businesses. The programme is part of a broader effort by the Nigerian government to reposition the country from a technology-importing nation to a technology-driven, exporting economy.
Officials say the First Lady’s role as programme champion will help mobilise national participation and support for innovators, while providing capacity-building opportunities and commercialisation support for promising inventions.
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.