Echono Emphasises Efficiency, Accountability As TETFund Celebrates 2025 Service Week

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has joined the global community in celebrating the 2025 Customer Service Week, reaffirming its commitment to enhanced service delivery across Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.

The event, which began on Monday and concluded on Friday last week, featured a range of activities organised by the agency’s SERVICOM Unit.

Speaking during the opening ceremony, TETFund’s Executive Secretary, Arc. Sonny Echono, said the theme for this year’s celebration, “Mission: Possible,” aligns perfectly with the Fund’s vision of building an institution where excellence in service is not only expected but guaranteed.

Echono who was represented at the event by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Arc. Babatunde Olajide said; “Customer Service Week is an international celebration of the importance of service and the people who serve and support others daily.

“For us at TETFund, and indeed in the wider public service, it is a time to reflect, re-evaluate, and recommit ourselves to the noble task of making service a transformative experience for our stakeholders.”

He commended the dedication of frontline officers, describing them as the true heroes of the organisation.

“I want to specially recognise our frontline officers the staff who interact directly with our stakeholders, clients, and beneficiaries.

“They are the face of our organisation and the first impression that many people carry about us. Their patience, professionalism, and dedication often make the difference between frustration and satisfaction.

“To you, our frontline champions, I say: thank you. You embody the spirit of *‘Mission: Possible.’* Your resilience and empathy remind us that true greatness lies not only in grand achievements but in the little acts of kindness and efficiency that brighten the day of those we serve,” he said.

Echono further reiterated TETFund’s commitment to improving its service framework through SERVICOM and other innovations.

“At TETFund, we remain committed to strengthening our service delivery framework through SERVICOM. We are continuously improving our processes to make them simpler, faster, and more responsive. From feedback mechanisms to system studies, from training programmes to ICT innovations, we are ensuring that our services match the expectations of the 21st-century client.

“My dear staff: service excellence is not the responsibility of one unit, department, or office. It is the collective duty of every staff member. Whether you are behind a desk, on the field, in administration, or in management, you play a vital role in making our mission possible,” he added.

Also speaking, the Acting National Coordinator of SERVICOM, Mr. Gbenga Anthony Oshin, applauded TETFund for its wide-ranging interventions in tertiary institutions across the country, urging the agency to sustain its commitment to service delivery.

Represented by the Head of Operations, SERVICOM, Mrs. Ngozi Akinbodewa, Oshin praised the TETFund Nodal Officer for her dedication to service excellence and elaborated on the week’s theme, “Mission: Possible.”

“So, commitment to service excellence makes a mission achievable. Once you are committed and know where you are heading, there is no mission that you cannot achieve,” he said.

Oshin also urged TETFund to consider extending its research sponsorship programmes to private universities to give lecturers and students in those institutions access to similar opportunities.

“I see a lot of private universities asking for TETFund to intervene in helping them drive service excellence in those universities. One of the things I think TETFund can actually help with is in the area of research. Because the infrastructure, if you put it there, is a one-man business, and he takes credit for it.

“But when you put a ‘Mission: Possible’ for us for that kind of dream, it is to ensure that even the lecturers teaching in private universities have the same opportunity as someone teaching in a public university. So, at the end of the day, no student is short-changed in terms of knowledge gained,” he stated.

In her welcome remarks, the TETFund Nodal Officer, Mrs. Ebere Nwobu, commended the Executive Secretary for leading by example in driving efficient service delivery.

She described the theme of this year’s celebration as both timely and inspiring, saying it underscores the power of teamwork and commitment in overcoming challenges.

“As public servants, our mandate is clear to put the customers, beneficiaries, and stakeholders first; to render services with excellence; and to continuously seek ways to exceed expectations. This mission is possible when we embrace innovation, teamwork, and accountability in all we do.

“This week’s activities have been carefully designed to enlighten, engage, and encourage us to go the extra mile in ensuring that service delivery remains at the heart of our operations. I urge every one of us to actively participate and take the lessons from this week into our daily work,” Nwobu said.

The 2025 Customer Service Week celebration at TETFund featured paper presentations on service delivery, quiz competitions, games, and cultural performances, among other activities.

The SERVICOM Unit also used the event to appreciate security and sanitary officers (cleaners).