President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Arc. Sonny Echono, as the executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
He is the immediate past permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Education and will take over from the incumbent executive secretary, and Suleiman Bogoro, a professor of Animal Science, whose five-year tenure ends on March 18.
Mr. Echono’s appointment is contained in a statement issued by the ministry on Friday and signed by its director of press, Ben Goong.
Echono who hails from Benue State graduated from St. Murumbas College, Jos with his WAEC O level in 1978. He acquired his GCE A level at Murtala College of Arts, Science and Technology, Makurdi in 1980.
He bagged a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1983, Masters in Architecture, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1985, Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from the University of Calabar.
He also holds an MBA from Benue State University, Markurdi in 2004, a Masters in Procurement Management from the University of Turin, Italy, in 2011 among other qualifications.
Echono began his career in 1987 as Architect ad 1 with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing where he rose to Deputy Director 2005.
Within the said period, he served in different capacities including as secretary Implementation Committee on National Housing Policy, 1991-1994; Member/ Secretary, Special Project Task Force, 1992-1993; Acting Chief Executive Architect, 1993; Secretary Committee on Lands and Housing, 1994-1995; Assistant to Permanent Secretary, 1994-1995; Secretary, Ministerial Tenders Board, 2004-2005.
From 2007-2008, he was Deputy Director, Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU); 2008-2010 Director Procurement Federal Ministry of Defence; 2010-2011 Director Procurement Federal Ministry of Water Resources; 2011 Director Procurement Federal Ministry of Environment; 2014-2014 Director Procurement Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
Architect Sonny Echono served as Director Procurement, Federal Ministry of Power 2014. Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Agriculture, 2014-2016. Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communications, 2015-2017. He was appointed Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education in 2017 where he served until his retirement in 2022.
The TETFund boss designate is the president of the Nigeria Institute of Architects, a body of professional architects founded with the aim of regulating the conduct of its members and ensuring decency in the construction business in the country.
Membership of Statutory Bodies/ Council
2015-2017 Chairman, Board of NIPOST
2014-2015 Member/Chair board International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
2010-2011 Member Board of International Institute of Tropical Agricultural
Insurance Corporation (NAIC)
2010-2012 Council Member NESREA
1993-2001 Council Member, Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON)
1993-2013 Member, Board of Architectural Education in Nigeria
1993-1997 Member, Kings College Advisory Council
Professional Affiliations
2017-Present, President Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA)
2013 Fellow, Procurement Professionals Association of Nigeria (PPA)
2009-2013 Fellow Nigerian Institute of Architects
2009-2013 Chairman Disciplinary Committee, NIA
1995-Present Member National Executive Council NIA
Described as an accomplished technocrat, Arc Echono brings to the job, a diverse wealth of experience spanning Infrastructure, business administration, procurement management, ICT, and the education sectors.
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is an offshoot of the Education Trust Fund (ETF), which was established in 1998 as an intervention agency for educational institutions in the country.
TETFund came with the repeal of the ETF law in 2011 with the TETFund Act (2011) as “an intervention agency set up to provide supplementary support to all level of public tertiary institutions with the main objective of using funding alongside project management for the rehabilitation, restoration, and consolidation of Tertiary Education in Nigeria.”
TETFUnd derives its income from the two percent education tax paid from the assessable profit of companies that are registered in Nigeria.
The taxes that are collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) are remitted to the agency for the fulfillment of its mandate.
“The funds are disbursed for the general improvement of education in federal and state tertiary education specifically for the provision or maintenance of essential physical infrastructure for teaching and learning; institutional material and equipment; research and publications, academic staff training and development,” among other roles as may be deemed necessary by the board of tetfund.
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