CBN’s Centres of Excellence abandoned at UNILAG, others 

By Adesina Wahab 

Centres of Excellence established by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in various higher institutions such as the University of Lagos, UNILAG, the University of Jos, UNIJOS, among others are currently abandoned at various  stages of completion.

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Checks by Saturday Vanguard revealed that while the CBN has spent over N63 billion on the projects, it would now require close to a trillion naira to complete them.

Commenting on the development in a recent chat with newsmen in Lagos, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the abandoned project would require over a trillion naira to complete.

“The Centres of Excellence were set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria in many institutions across the country. Federal and state institutions are beneficiaries but they have been abandoned in many instances. At the University of Lagos, the two projects have been left uncompleted. When we met the contractors handling those projects, they said it would require N19 billion to complete them.

“And the projects are scattered across the country. From preliminary investigation, it may require over a trillion naira to complete them. Apart from meeting and negotiating with the contractors, we are looking at the possibility of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund taking over some of the projects and completing them. The current leadership of the CBN does not see them as a priority or part of the statutory mandate of the bank,” he said.

He gave the assurance that the federal government would make the contractors handling the projects to make some concessions and get them completed.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Centre of Excellence projects, which are high-level training and research facilities at various Nigerian universities, were spearheaded and initiated under the administration of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as the governor of the apex bank in Nigeria.

Only a few of the projects started across the country were completed in places such as the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

The Centres of Excellence are designed to foster research in Economics, Banking, and Finance and were set up across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to enhance postgraduate education in finance, accounting, and economics. 

These facilities, with over 28 established or planned, are designed to boost research, innovation, and infrastructure. 

The projects typically include faculty buildings, auditoriums, lecture rooms, libraries, and accommodation.

The centres focus on creating world-class, postgraduate schools aimed at bridging the gap between academic theory and professional practice in business and finance.

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