The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Friday inaugurated a N1 billion Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Digital Experience Centre at the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS), Calabar, providing students with free access to laptops, desktops and other digital resources.
The facility, delivered through the Renewed Hope Initiative in partnership with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), is aimed at expanding access to digital tools, particularly for economically disadvantaged students who cannot afford personal devices.
Speaking at the inauguration of the centre at the university’s main campus in Calabar, Tinubu said the facility would provide students with opportunities to learn, create and develop digital skills without being constrained by lack of devices or unstable electricity.
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According to her, the project is part of a nationwide initiative involving tertiary institutions across the country’s six geopolitical zones, with selected institutions benefiting from the pilot phase.
The beneficiary institutions include Ekiti State University; Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State; Kaduna State University; Kwara State University; UNICROSS and Taraba State University, among others.
In his remarks, Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, commended the initiative, describing the ICT Digital Experience Centre as a significant investment in the digital empowerment of students and the advancement of education in the state.
Otu said the facility would help bridge the digital divide among students while equipping young people with skills required to compete in an increasingly technology-driven global economy.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the TETFund Board of Trustees, Rt. Hon. Aminu Masari, said the centre was among six institutions nationwide selected as pioneer beneficiaries of the strategic intervention under the Fund’s 2024 activities.
Masari said the TETFund Board approved the establishment of an ICT Experience Centre in each of the six geopolitical zones at a total cost of N1 billion per zone, with UNICROSS hosting the South-South centre.
He said the centre was designed to equip students and lecturers with critical digital skills in Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics and software development, while exposing them to emerging technologies applicable to sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, security, media and mining.
According to him, the intervention was aimed at enhancing graduate employability, fostering innovation and preparing Nigerian youths to compete effectively in the global technology-driven economy.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, said the project reflected the Fund’s commitment to strengthening digital infrastructure in tertiary institutions and expanding access to technology-driven learning.
Echono acknowledged the role of the First Lady in supporting initiatives aimed at empowering young Nigerians, saying her commitment had provided encouragement for programmes of this nature.
He also commended the university management for its cooperation in delivering the project and urged it to ensure that the facility and equipment were properly maintained, secured and regularly upgraded.
He said TETFund would continue to support impactful initiatives that strengthen digital capacity in tertiary institutions, stressing that the centres were not merely infrastructure projects but platforms for creating opportunities for young people and advancing Nigeria’s vision of a knowledge-based and technologically empowered economy.
Echono added that the centre would provide students with access to modern digital resources while creating an enabling environment for research, learning and skills development.
He said the initiative would particularly benefit students without personal digital devices, thereby helping to reduce inequality in access to education and technology.