The Nigerian Research and Education Network/Connectivity for the Nigerian Education Sector (NgREN/CONES) is committed to the relentless execution of its mandate to connect, serve, and reach further, with an attitude focused on getting young people off the streets for everyone’s safety. The Board Chairman of NgREN/CONES, Hon. Osita Chidoka, made this known recently during the 13th meeting of the board, which was held at the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Abuja.
According to him, the organisation will harness the connectivity already built and sustained by NgREN, the national digital service ecosystem created by the Tertiary Education Research Application and Services (TERAS), the important mandates, investments and capabilities of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), Galaxy Backbone and other partners to deliver better digital services to Nigerian education institutions.
He said this will be achieved by aggregating services and delivering them to the Nigerian educational sector at a lower cost. By this, the average Nigerian, especially the student, benefits from access to global learning opportunities, deepening the trajectory of making Nigerians employable through increased knowledge.
“NgREN/CONES exists to deliver the digital infrastructure and services that enable Nigerian education institutions to teach better, research better, and compete globally. To make NgREN/CONES the trusted digital infrastructure organisation for tertiary education in Nigeria.
“Our primary beneficiaries are the institutions and the people they serve. Government agencies are our partners and enablers — the institutions are the test of whether our work matters,’’ he explained.
In his opening statement, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, suggested improved awareness campaigns to create enthusiasm among institutions, students, lecturers and ICT departments to take advantage of NgREN/CONES services.
Executive Secretary, TETFund, Arc. Sonny S.T. Echono decried the inertia of educational institutions and their students to utilise these services. He also suggested increased awareness campaigns to improve the adoption of the services. “It needs the efforts and contributions of professionals here. We need to ensure these services are used so the investments are not wasted”, he said.
Other Board members were united in endorsing and hailing the integration of NgREN and TERAS as fundamental for improved connectivity, network computing, data architecture, cybersecurity, research collaboration, services utilisation, and expansion to cover all educational institutions.
Setting the pace for the meeting, Programme Coordinator NgREN/CONES and Board Secretary, Dr Joshua Atah, informed the meeting that the inaugural meeting of the newly constituted Board of the NgREN/CONES was held on 26 February 2026, focusing majorly on redefining the Network’s institutional direction, strengthening its governance and financial structures, and charting a course of action for achieving these priorities in 2026.
Atah disclosed that some significant developments have taken place, which he outlined to include the modification of the focus of the NgREN/TERAS integration, the expansion of its Terms of Reference by the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, to cover not only tertiary institutions but also foundational/basic schools and its redesignation as NgREN/CONES.
Others, according to him, include the expansion of membership of the Board to include other critical stakeholders from the basic education sector, as well as representatives of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the design of a core network expansion plan for NgREN/CONES, and the design of a phased rollout plan for the connection of 295 beneficiary institutions, among others.
He described the progress achieved since the Board’s inaugural meeting as the result of a deliberate and coordinated effort to reposition NgREN/CONES as a national platform to advance connectivity and digital transformation across Nigeria’s education sector. “With the expanded governance structures, strengthened technical advisory mechanisms, and concrete steps toward financial sustainability and network rollout, the Board is well placed to drive the next phase of implementation”, he said.
The Director of ICT, TETFund, and Co-Secretary of the Board, Engr Joseph Odo, presented a memo outlining an integrated assessment of the implementation, utilisation, impact, and future strategic direction of the TERAS ecosystem. The report consolidates findings from the TERAS implementation history, platform utilisation statistics, Blackboard analytics, EBSCO research database utilisation, ICDL Digital Skills Programme implementation, and beneficiary institution reports, amongst others, for the Board’s consideration.
The Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, has approved the expansion of the Terms of Reference (ToR) NgREN to cover not only tertiary institutions but also foundational/basic schools and its redesignation as NgREN/CONES.
As a result, membership of the Board has also been expanded to include other critical stakeholders from the basic education sector, as well as representatives of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The constitution of the 23-member NgREN/CONES Board is:
Hon. Osita Chidoka – Chairman
The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission
The Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education
The Executive Secretary, National Commission for Colleges of Education
The Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund
The Chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors (Federal)
The Chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of State Universities
The Chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Private Universities
The Chairman, Committee of Rectors
The Chairman, Committee of Provosts
Programme Coordinator, NEDI, Federal Ministry of Education
The Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission
The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Galaxy Backbone Limited
The Secretary, Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF)
The Director-General, Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd (NIGCOMSAT)
The Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)
Representative of the Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (Coordinator, Project Bridge)
The Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission
The Executive Secretary, National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC)
The Director, Basic Education, Federal Ministry of Education
The Coordinator, Special Programs Operation and Implementation Unit (SPOIU)
Dr Joshua Atah, Programme Coordinator, NgREN/CONES & Board Secretary
Engr Joseph Odo, Director of ICT, TETFund – Co-Secretary
