TCN Contractors Donate Classroom Furniture To Zaria Community School, Strengthen Host Community Ties

Pupils of Zaria Community School, Jaja, have received new classroom desks and chairs from contractors handling the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN) NTEP-TS1 Lot 1 project, financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), in a gesture aimed at improving the learning environment and strengthening relations with the project’s host community.

The furniture was handed over on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, providing relief to pupils who had previously endured inadequate seating arrangements, including sitting on bare floors and sharing crowded benches.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Principal Manager, Project Management Team (PMT), Kaduna Sub-Region, Engr. Onaga Jacob Ugochukwu, said the intervention reflected a commitment to community development beyond the construction of power transmission infrastructure.

“When we build transmission lines, we are building for the community. When we equip their classrooms, we are building the community itself,” he said. “A child who learns in comfort learns better, and that child may become the engineer who maintains these lines tomorrow.”

The donation forms part of efforts to ensure that communities hosting major power infrastructure projects also benefit from interventions that support their social development.

Receiving the furniture, the District Head of Jaja, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammed, commended TCN, AfDB and the project contractors for extending their impact to the community’s educational needs.

“This is what partnership looks like,” he said. “TCN and AfDB, through the contractors, did not just pass through our land with towers and lines. They remembered our children. For this, Jaja will continue to stand as guardian of this project and its facilities.”

He pledged the community’s continued cooperation and commitment to protecting power infrastructure in the area.

Also present at the handover were the Principal Manager, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), Ahmed Rufai Sani, and Senior Manager, Engr. Afeez Kareem, both of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), Corporate Headquarters.

The intervention underscores the importance of integrating community focused initiatives into infrastructure development, demonstrating that investments in power transmission can extend beyond electricity delivery to support education and improve the welfare of host communities.