The Federal Government has combined about N25 billion raised from gifts received by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu during her birthday celebration with funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund to revive the abandoned National Library of Nigeria headquarters complex in Abuja.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Sunday, following the approval by the Federal Executive Council of the augmentation of the existing contract for the completion and comprehensive furnishing of the National Library headquarters.
The development is expected to bring fresh hope to the long-delayed project, which has remained incomplete for about 18 years after construction was stopped.
The National Library headquarters project began on April 29, 2006, with an initial completion period of two years. However, work stopped in October 2008, leaving the huge complex unfinished through successive administrations.
Alausa said the intervention by President Bola Tinubu had provided the political backing and funding needed to restart the project.
According to the minister, the President directed the Ministry of Education to identify available sources of funding, including TETFund, to ensure that the National Library project was completed.
“President Bola Tinubu, when he came in, mandated that we look for funds, real funds, that we use in completing this National Library. He directed that we source funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, and we’ve cobbled some funds together,” Alausa said.
He said the First Lady also played a major role in raising money for the project after directing that gifts she received during her birthday celebration should be channelled towards the completion of the National Library.
According to Alausa, the decision generated about N25 billion.
“The First Lady, during her birthday, had gifts that she directed should be used for the National Library. That has generated about N25bn,” he said.
The minister explained that the money raised through the First Lady’s initiative was combined with funds sourced from TETFund and other financial efforts to provide the resources needed to move the project forward.
“Combined with the money we’ve sourced from TETFund, the Council today approved the augmentation of the existing contract for the completion of the construction of the National Library of Nigeria Headquarters Building Complex in Abuja,” he said.
The Federal Executive Council’s approval of the contract augmentation is expected to allow work to resume and also cover the comprehensive furnishing of the complex.
Alausa expressed optimism that construction would resume fully in the coming months, describing the development as an important milestone for Nigeria’s education sector.
He said the National Library should not be viewed simply as another government building, stressing that the institution had an important role to play in education, research and the preservation of Nigeria’s intellectual heritage.
According to him, the completion of the headquarters would provide the National Library with the facilities needed to properly perform its statutory responsibilities.
The National Library of Nigeria is the country’s apex library and is responsible for collecting, preserving and providing access to published materials that form part of Nigeria’s intellectual and cultural heritage.
It also supports students, researchers, academics, writers and other users by providing access to information and knowledge resources.
The Abuja headquarters was planned as a major national knowledge centre where books, documents, publications and other materials could be preserved and made available to Nigerians.
However, the prolonged delay in completing the building has limited the institution’s ability to operate from the facility originally designed for it.
The project was started in 2006 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. It was expected to be completed within two years, but construction stopped in 2008.
Since then, successive administrations have made efforts to revive the project, but the building remained unfinished.
The latest move by the Tinubu administration is therefore significant because it seeks to address both the construction and furnishing of the complex.
Alausa thanked President Tinubu for his intervention, saying the administration had provided the political will to revive the project.
“Abandoned National Library for 18 years, President Bola Tinubu has now been able to mobilise funds, cobbled funds together, for work to go back, to start again at the National Library. We thank you, Mr President,” the minister said.
The project’s long delay has attracted concern over the amount of public resources already committed to it and the continued absence of a completed national headquarters for the country’s apex library.
The decision to use funds raised from gifts received by the First Lady alongside TETFund resources also highlights the government’s attempt to bring together different sources of funding to complete major projects.
TETFund was established to provide funding for public tertiary institutions and support infrastructure development, academic programmes and other activities in Nigeria’s higher education system.
Its involvement in the National Library project is therefore expected to provide additional financial support for the completion of the facility.
The government has also faced growing demands to improve access to books, digital resources and research materials, particularly as Nigeria seeks to strengthen its education system and promote knowledge-based development.
A modern national library can provide an important platform for students and researchers by offering access to books, journals, archives and digital information.
It can also play a role in preserving documents and publications that may otherwise be lost over time.
For Nigeria, the National Library has a wider cultural role because it serves as a repository for the country’s published works and other records of its intellectual development.
The completion of the Abuja headquarters could therefore strengthen the institution’s ability to preserve and provide access to these materials.
The Federal Government is also expected to face the challenge of ensuring that the project does not suffer another prolonged delay.
With the latest contract augmentation approved by the FEC, stakeholders will be looking for clear timelines for the completion of the construction, installation of facilities and furnishing of the complex.
The government will also need to ensure that funds committed to the project are properly managed and that the facility is completed to the required standard.
For the education sector, the revival of the National Library headquarters comes at a time when authorities are seeking to improve learning and research infrastructure across the country.
Alausa said the completion of the complex would go beyond providing office space for the National Library, as it would help create a modern national centre for learning, research, scholarship and information access.
The minister expressed confidence that the latest intervention would finally bring an end to years of waiting and allow the National Library to move into a facility that reflects its importance to the country.
After nearly two decades of stalled construction, the project is now expected to enter a new phase, with the Federal Government hoping that the combined funding from TETFund, the First Lady’s initiative and other sources will provide enough resources to complete and furnish the complex.