The head of the Governing Council at Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Dr. Olutoyin Okeowo, has urged the government to reconsider the Tertiary Education Trust Fund beneficiaries list to include private universities. Okeowo made this statement during the inauguration of the Modupe Okeowo and Abiodun Ayanlaja Senate Building, a facility he personally funded and gifted to ACU, coinciding with his 70th birthday celebration. He emphasized the financial challenges faced by private universities like ACU, including funding, staff salaries, infrastructure, and academic offerings.
Okeowo noted the lack of government support, such as TETFUND, for private institutions, unlike public universities. He called this discrepancy unjust, pointing out that stakeholders of private universities also contribute to national taxes that feed into TETFUND. Okeowo appealed to the Federal Government to rectify this disparity by extending TETFUND benefits to private institutions, especially faith-based universities such as Ajayi Crowther University.
He highlighted ACU’s growth trajectory and its dedication to creating innovative and globally relevant programs. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Timothy Adebayo, expressed gratitude to the Okeowo family for addressing the university’s space constraints with the new building and extended birthday wishes to Okeowo.
Notable figures present at the event included Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Henry Ndukuba; Visitor to the University, Most Reverend Dr. Joseph Akinfenwa; bishops from various church dioceses; Chairman of the University Board of Trustees, Dr. Wole Olanipekun, SAN; and former Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunibe Mamora.