The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has announced that its new state-of-the-art multidisciplinary research laboratories will enable Nigerian researchers to conduct all forms of research locally, eliminating the need to send samples abroad for analysis.

According to Sunny Echono, TETFund’s Executive Secretary, six such facilities are planned nationwide. Four laboratories are currently under construction in Port Harcourt, Kano, Abuja, and Lagos, while two additional sites will commence before the year ends.

Echono made this disclosure in Abuja on Monday while hosting the leadership of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), led by its President, Arc. Mobolaji Adeniyi.

A former 28th President of the Institute, Echono pledged to mobilise support for furnishing the NIA’s Resource and Exhibition Centre, currently under construction, as requested by Adeniyi. He further announced the endowment of an annual prize for the Institute’s Architecture Awards, sponsorship for its journal, and other initiatives.

The TETFund boss also revealed that several iconic projects will soon be commissioned nationwide, with four scheduled for inauguration in Kano and Osun states before the end of the month.

“The biggest observation that was made when I came in here is the fact that we were dotting our campuses with all sorts of blocks, and we’re now transiting to iconic buildings,” Echono said.