Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has commissioned a N1 billion ICT Digital Experience Centre at the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS), Calabar, giving students free access to laptops, desktop computers and other digital learning resources.
The state-of-the-art facility, delivered under the Renewed Hope Initiative in partnership with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), is targeted particularly at students who cannot afford personal digital devices.
Commissioning the centre on Friday at the university’s main campus, Senator Tinubu said the facility would enable students to learn, create and acquire digital skills without being constrained by lack of devices or unstable electricity.
She said the project was part of a nationwide pilot initiative covering tertiary institutions across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
The initiative has selected institutions including Ekiti State University; Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State; Kaduna State University; Kwara State University; UNICROSS; and Taraba State University, among others.
The TETFund Board of Trustees Chairman, Rt. Hon. Aminu Masari, said UNICROSS was one of six pioneer beneficiaries of the strategic intervention under the Fund’s 2024 activities.
Masari disclosed that the Board approved one ICT Experience Centre for each of the six geopolitical zones at a cost of N1 billion per zone, with UNICROSS designated as the South-South centre.
He said the centres were designed to equip students and lecturers with skills in emerging fields, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics and software development.
According to him, the facilities would also expose beneficiaries to technologies with applications in agriculture, healthcare, security, media and mining.
Masari said the intervention was aimed at improving graduate employability, promoting innovation and preparing Nigerian youths for competition in the global technology driven economy.
Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, described the centre as a major investment in the digital empowerment of students and the advancement of education in the state.
Otu said the facility would help bridge the digital divide while equipping young people with skills required to compete in an increasingly technology driven global economy.
Earlier, TETFund Executive Secretary, Arc. Sonny Echono, said the project reflected the Fund’s commitment to strengthening digital infrastructure in tertiary institutions and expanding access to technology driven learning.
Echono said the centres were more than infrastructure projects, describing them as platforms for creating opportunities for young Nigerians and advancing Nigeria’s vision of a knowledge based and technologically empowered economy.
He said the centre would provide access to modern digital resources and create an enabling environment for research, learning and skills development, particularly for students without personal digital devices.
Echono commended Senator Tinubu for championing initiatives aimed at empowering young Nigerians and urged the university management to ensure the facility and equipment were properly maintained, secured and regularly upgraded.
He assured that TETFund would continue to support interventions designed to improve the quality of tertiary education and prepare Nigerian students for the demands of the digital economy.
