ARC. SONNY ECHONO : TETFUND IN SAFE HANDS

Ealier this year in the month of March, the tenure of Prof. Sulaiman Elias Bogoro came to an end as the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND). Professor Bogoro no doubt took the Fund to an enviable height and so when his tenure came to an end,the task of who replaces him ,given his track record fell on the Education Minister,Mallam Adamu Adamu who knew that for TETFUND to continue from the height Prof Bogoro left it,an experienced technocrat must be hired.

Luckily for the Honourable Minister and the Fund, they did not have to look farther than the education sector. Arc. Sonny Echono who just retired as the Permanent Secretary ,Federal Ministry of Education was handy. Born on December 16,1962 at Otukpo,Benue State, Arc. Sonny Echono had his early education at St. Mary’s primary school ,Otukpo before proceeding to Jos to complete his primary and secondary education at St. Theresa’s and St. Murumba’s college respectively. Arc. Echono thereafter enrolled at the Murtala College of Arts,Science and Technology (MUCAST), Makurdi for his A Levels/IJMB. He was admitted into Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1980 to study Architecture and graduated with a B.sc. (2nd class upper) in 1983 and M.sc. in 1985. Arc. Sonny Echono completed his mandatory NYSC programme in 1986 and had a brief stint with the Benue State Housing Agency before joining the Federal Civil Service in January,1987.

Arc. Sonny Echono was exemplary in the Civil Service. He grew through the ranks and served in various capacities at various times,covering various ministries. At the federal Ministry of Works and Housing, he was Secretary, Implementation Committee on National Housing Policy, 1991-1995; Secretary, Special Projects Task Force, 1992-1995; Secretary, Committee on Lands and Housing,1993-1995; Chief Executive Architect in charge of administration of the department, 1993-1994; Special Assistant to the Permanent Secretary, 1994-1999; Head,Council Affairs and Parastatals, 2003-2004; Secretary, Ministerial Tenders Board, 2004-2005. Arc.Sonny Echono was among the first set of civil servants deployed to the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU) in the wake of procurement reforms in February 2015. In 2016, he was appointed Head of Team ‘A’ with responsibility for procurement review and certification of projects for Ministries of Works and Housing, FCT Administration, Transport, State House, Defence, Police and all the Security Agencies.

While in service, Arc. Sonny Echono acquired the following additional qualifications: Postgraduate Diploma in Management, University of Calabar,2002; Master of Business Administration (MBA) Benue State University,2004; Msc, Procurement Management, University of Turin, Italy, 2011. In October 2014, Arc. Sonny Echono was appointed Permanent Secretary in the Federal Civil Service. This saw him serve as Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Agriculture 2014-2015; Federal Ministry of Communications 2015-2017,and the Federal Ministry of Education from 2017 up until his retirement this year. His service to the profession of Architecture in Nigeria is equally impressive . He rose from being Secretary of the Admissions Committee in 1991 to the pinnacle of the profession as President, Nigeria Institute of Architects in November 2019. The newly appointed TETFUND Executive Secretary attended several management courses and workshops at top institutions across the globe including; University of Bradford,UK; Oxford University UK; University of Cambridge UK; Japan International Cooperation Agency; Japan Institute of Sevelopment Studies; Indonesia International Law Institute; American Institute for Peace and the Harvard Business School. He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Architects ,founding member and trustee of the Procurement Professionals Association of Nigeria.

Without a doubt, the appointment of Arc. Sonny Echono as Executive Secretary TETFUND by President Mohammadu Buhari through the nomination of the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu is one of the best things that have happened to the Fund and by extension, tertiary education in Nigeria. Stakeholders in the tertiary education sector have described the appointment as a masterstroke deployed to engender a new lease of life into Nigeria’s tertiary education system. Ofcourse, Arc. Sonny Echono is not new to his new place of assignment ,haven been a Board Member at TETFUND. There are high optimism about Arc. Sonny Echono at TETFUND. Expections are at an all time high and with his wealth of experience and certifications gathered all over the years, in the line of duty, Arc. Sonny Echono, will no doubt deliver as TETFUND’s boss.

Adagher, a Public Affairs Analyst Writes from Abuja.