The Federal Government on Monday said over N50 billion was needed to complete the abandoned National Library project.
This was as it approved the takeover of the project by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFUND.
The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education, Sony Echono, said this Monday, when the Nigerian Library Association, NLA, led by its President, Prof. Innocent Ekoja, paid a working visit to the Ministry.
A statement by the Director of Press in the ministry,Bem Goong quoted Echono as saying “the critical step being taken by the government is to reposition library services in the Nigerian education sector for effective service delivery.”
He “recalled that work on the National Library has been stalled for years due to inadequate funding, adding that efforts to get the private sector to complete the project have not yielded results.”
“Responding, President of the association, Prof. Innocent Ekoja, expressed appreciation to the Buhari administration, maintaining that completion of the National Library will bring honour and pride to all Nigerian librarians as well as provide the much-needed reservoir for Nigerian researchers, students, and the generality of the reading public.
“Highlights of the one-day working visit include; the investiture of the Service Award on the Permanent Secretary, the highest honour ever bestowed on a non-librarian by the Association.
“The President of the Association revealed that the investiture on the Permanent Secretary is the seventh of its kind by the Association in the last 4 decades,” the statement read.