ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a total of about ₦155 billion for the completion and furnishing of the long-delayed National Library of Nigeria Headquarters Building Complex in Abuja.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of Wednesday’s FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja.

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According to Alausa, the council approved ₦118.309 billion for the completion of construction works on the National Library complex, while an additional ₦37 billion was approved for furnishing the facility.

He explained that the funding would come from legally cleared portions of the Unclaimed Capital Market/Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund and Dormant Account Trust Fund, following President Tinubu’s directive to deploy unobstructed funds belonging to Nigerians to priority national development projects.

Alausa stressed that funds subject to legal disputes would not be transferred or utilised.

“Every single fund that is still subject to a legal challenge will not be part of the money that will be transferred to the fund,” the minister clarified.

He said only funds that had received legal clearance and were free from encumbrances would be considered, stressing that the resources belonged to Nigerians and should be deployed for the benefit of citizens.

The minister said investing the funds in education represented one of the most beneficial ways of using the resources.

“We need to educate our children. We need to move this fund to use it, and using this fund to educate our children, you can never get a better use for this fund than to educate our children,” Alausa said.

National Library Project Stalled Since 2008

The minister revealed that construction of the National Library headquarters began in April 2006 and was initially expected to be completed within two years.

However, work reportedly stalled in October 2008, leaving the major national project incomplete for years.

Alausa said President Tinubu, upon assuming office in 2023, directed the Ministry of Education to explore alternative funding mechanisms to ensure the completion of the project.

He expressed optimism that construction work would resume in the coming months, following the latest FEC approval, contributions from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and other funding sources.

The minister also acknowledged the contribution of First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, saying she helped raise approximately ₦25 billion for the project by directing that gifts received during her birthday celebration be channelled towards completing the National Library.

Government Moves to Address Delayed Student Payments

Alausa also addressed concerns over some tertiary institutions allegedly withholding funds meant for students.

He said the Federal Government had introduced new frameworks and timelines requiring institutions to return funds to students within one week after receiving confirmation that government payments had been made.

The minister acknowledged that payment-related challenges had occurred previously but said mechanisms had now been established to prevent similar situations.

Reacting to a reported case involving Abia State University, where a payment-related issue was said to have remained unresolved for more than six months, Alausa requested details of the matter and promised to investigate.

He nevertheless maintained that such incidents no longer represented a systemic problem within the education sector, insisting that the government had strengthened its procedures to prevent a recurrence.

The latest FEC approvals form part of the Tinubu administration’s broader efforts to mobilise additional resources for education, strengthen infrastructure and improve access to tertiary education.

The completion of the National Library headquarters is expected to provide Nigeria with a modern national repository for knowledge, research, documentation and preservation of the country’s literary and intellectual heritage.