Echono Vows to Tackle Mismanagement of Funds in TETFund

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund’s (TETFUND) executive secretary, Sonny Togo Echono, would most likely have been known as the “action administrator” if Nigeria had been under military rule. Nigeria’s governance vocabulary was enriched with various modifications and infusions by successive military governments over the course of several years and decades. “Action Governor” was one such remedy that rose to and remained popular in public discourse in the past. It was a reference to proactive military superintendents who may have been overbearing in their attitude to public service. The Army Colonels Mobolaji Johnson, David Bamigboye, Robert Adebayo, and Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, who oversaw Lagos, Kwara, Western, and Midwestern states, were selected as Action Governors in recognition of their contributions to the advancement of infrastructure development in their respective areas. Similarly decorated was Mohammed Buba Marwa, the current chairperson of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), a Brigadier-General who oversaw Lagos State from 1996 to 1999.

Marwa was in the forefront of crime prevention, health institution reform, and road rehabilitation. He established a police-military task force called Operation Sweep as a crime-containment measure, and many other states followed suit. He completed all of these under his honorific title of “action administrator.” A few other states followed Marwa’s example, most notably Oyo under Colonel Ahmed Usman and his Kogi State counterpart, Bzigu Lassa Afakirya, who initiated Operation Gbale (gbale is the Yoruba word for sweeping) and Operation Hot Chase, respectively. Because of his Yoruba accent on the word “action,” Raji Rasaki, a former military administrator of Lagos State, was also known as the “akson” governor. His extensive demolition of illegal buildings is what people remember him for, as it greatly reduced the number of slums and shanties in Lagos. The state’s real estate market would then be impacted by this.

Ever since he was appointed to his current position a little more than three years ago, Echono has proven that he can speak tough and follow through with equal tenacity. Echono has made it a point to emphasize over and over again that a new sheriff is working at TETFUND. He started his reformation program by addressing long-standing cabals in the organization that had taken over the authority to decide contract awards. In order to change our memories, Echono was among the first civil servants to be put through the paces of a new due process and public procurement system in the early years of the current democratic age. Prior to his current schedule, he served in a number of ministries and has “preached the gospel” at his many “bus stops” in public service. He has never been discouraged, regardless of how the establishment responds.

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He made enemies on his own initiative because he insisted on reforms and reorientation. In an effort to manipulate the story, “victims” of Echono’s new teaching launched a fierce media campaign against him. The national assembly was notified of the war’s escalation and was presented with multiple petitions accusing Echono of massive fiscal violations and corruption. As was to be expected, anti-corruption organizations, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), were interested in the undesirable information that was coming from TETFUND. Echono’s traducers were upset to learn that every time TETFUND’s systems and his personal profile underwent the rigorous testing of serial integrity, he consistently returned positive test results and clean bills of health. As he took action to halt the pre-existing market in TET­FUND under his supervision, Echono encountered this situation.
The huge stick has subsequently been wielded by Echono for scholars who have chosen to “defraud” the government after taking advantage of the government’s kindness by receiving grants and scholarships to study abroad. Across all universities, certain instructors and lecturers have benefited greatly from government financing for additional study overseas. By continuing to serve their primary employers, they are typically expected to return to Nigeria and give back to the system that provided them with such benevolence. On the other hand, many times, some students use bad currency to pay back the government, who helps them. In a sense, they “defect” or flee. In light of the nation’s current economic circumstances, which are influenced by inflation and currency devaluation, Echono has now announced that the government will no longer operate as Santa Claus.

Instead, the government would now encourage its researchers and intellectuals to develop their capacity domestically. Nigerian military institutions, for example, provide basic and advanced training to military officers from many foreign nations. The Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA) and Nigerian Defence College (NDC) have a small number of international students in almost every graduating class. Why wouldn’t advanced instruction be provided to indigenous scholars in home-based institutions that have been retooled and recalibrated? Indeed, faculty members from Nigeria make up a large number of universities and training centers worldwide. These include popular locations such as South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Within reasonable financial constraints, Nigeria can look inward and influence colleagues who want advanced exposure and retraining from experienced Nigerian technocrats and academicians back home.

Echono has also investigated forensically how big tertiary institutions are in relation to the amount of money they can get. In an area where some citadels have populations in the upper five figures, Echono thinks it odd that other institutions have far fewer pupils than the pitiful 100! The example of a polytechnic with only 30 students that had been in operation for four years and was still receiving public financing was once brought up by an anxious Echono. According to him, the government’s goals as expressed through the TETFUND are incompatible with such an example. He added that accountability is crucial when it comes to allocating funds. In the event that unused funds are found in the accounts of benefiting organizations, they will be retrieved and transferred to educational institutions with higher performance ratings. Echono’s frequent criticism of abandoned projects at the country’s public tertiary institutions is equally aggressive. His supervision will no longer let such unattractive stumps in institutional landscapes or monuments to waste.

Recent warnings from Echono cautioned TETFUND-administered organizations against misusing and abusing intervention funding. Echono issued a warning during a two-day strategic workshop for directors of academic planning, physical planning, and ICT that started in Abuja on Monday, July 7, 2025, that failing to use resources to their full potential could result in defaulting institutions being removed from the list. He reiterated the government’s resolve to support the country’s postsecondary education system by filling in procedural loopholes and making sure that institutions are fully aware of the agency’s intervention guidelines. Underperformance and poor management would not be tolerated, the head of the TETFUND stated. “Institutions that fail to access, use, or retire funds in accordance with TETFUND guidelines, or those that underperform in key academic or operational benchmarks, may be delisted,” Echono reaffirmed.

With his thoughtful interventions, Echono has elevated a public service that is typically perceived as dreary, uninspired, and tepid. His administration style has been defined by frequent interactions and interfaces with important tertiary education mill owners. The Echono milieu has broadened the range of engagements, since previously the only frequent attendees at meetings with the leadership of TETFUND were vice chancellors, rec­tors, and provosts at the top of universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. Under Echono’s direction, other important players in the tertiary institutions’ top crust—particularly the heads of the administrative, finance, and developmental departments—have also gained the support of TETFUND. The organization’s meeting room in the Abuja headquarters building is constantly bustling with activity. The goal of all of them is to improve the performance of the nation’s tertiary education system so that it can produce the skilled labor required to propel growth and development.

Future research will focus on Echono’s metamorphosis because he was a dedicated public servant who gained his start in the back of the bureaucracy, where he excelled for three and a half decades prior to his current job. He retired in early 2022 after entering the federal civil service in 1987. Throughout his years of service, he held a variety of positions in a number of ministries. “Civil servants can be seen but their voices are not to be heard,” according to the civil service’s rulebook. It was from that same system that Echono developed. But as he continues to serve the country, his current job description has brought out the more outspoken, outgoing side of him.

*A Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors (FANA), Olusunle, PhD, FANA, teaches creative writing as an adjunct professor at the University of Abuja.