While inaugurating the project, Buhari pledged more funding to the education sector. He commended the apex bank for supporting the federal government’s investments in the education sector as well as other areas of the economy. In his remark, Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, said the project was borne out of the need to produce a critical mass of skilled professionals that would be able to apply their knowledge toward supporting growth and continued innovation in the country’s financial sector and the economy in general. “This is against the recognition that the dearth of skilled manpower constituted a binding constraint toward making Nigeria the number one hub for economic activity in Africa,” he said. “The three first-generation federal universities in the country across the six geo-political zones were selected under the first phase of the intervention programme. They are Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; University of Ibadan (UI); and the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka.” He said the programme was later expanded to include six other tertiary institutions across Nigeria. The Centers in Enugu have been inaugurated in January, and the Centers in Ibadan are nearing completion in the various institutions. The Centers of Excellence were designed by the firm.