The Federal Government has mobilised about N25 billion generated from gifts received by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu during her birthday celebration, alongside funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), to support the completion of the abandoned National Library of Nigeria headquarters complex in Abuja.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, following the Federal Executive Council’s approval of an augmentation to the existing contract for the completion and comprehensive furnishing of the project.
Construction of the National Library headquarters commenced on April 29, 2006, with an initial completion timeline of two years. However, work was halted in October 2008, leaving the project abandoned for nearly two decades.
Alausa said the intervention of President Bola Tinubu had provided renewed momentum and funding for the completion of the long-delayed project.
According to the minister, the President directed the Ministry of Education to identify viable funding sources, including TETFund, to ensure that the headquarters 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.
The minister also acknowledged the contribution of the First Lady to the project’s financing, explaining that she directed that gifts received during her birthday celebration be channelled towards the completion of the National Library.
He said the initiative generated approximately N25 billion, which has now been incorporated into the funding for the project.
“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.
Alausa added that the funds were combined with resources obtained through TETFund and other funding efforts to strengthen the financial base for completing the complex.
“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 minister expressed optimism that construction activities would resume fully in the coming months, describing the development as an important milestone for Nigeria’s education sector.
He said the completion of the complex would go beyond finishing an abandoned structure, as the facility was designed to serve as a national hub for learning, research, scholarship and access to information, while preserving the country’s intellectual heritage.
According to him, completing the headquarters would enhance the capacity of the National Library to fulfil its statutory responsibilities and provide Nigerians with a modern national knowledge institution.
Alausa commended President Tinubu for providing the political support and intervention required 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,” he said.
The National Library of Nigeria is the country’s apex library and is responsible for collecting, preserving and providing access to Nigeria’s published intellectual heritage, while supporting education, research and scholarship.
The Abuja headquarters was conceived as a major national knowledge centre, but its prolonged abandonment has left the institution without the completed facility originally planned for it.
The latest approval by the Federal Executive Council to augment the existing contract is expected to pave the way for the completion and comprehensive furnishing of the complex after years of stalled construction.
