A team from the World Bank, Association of African Universities (AAU), AND NUC, on implementation Support Mission, to Covenant Applied Informatics and Communication Africa Centre of Excellence (CApIC-ACE), led by Professor Solomon Agbor, paid a courtesy visit to Covenant University to support and enhance the progress of ongoing projects.

Situating the purpose of their visit, Professor Agbor, announced that it aims to provide support and assess the center's progress as the World Bank Supported ACE-IMPACT Project nears its conclusion next year. He outlined two objectives for the visit: reviewing the work done in 2024 and understanding the center's sustainability plan as the program concludes. He promised to provide a report based on their findings.

While welcoming the team, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abiodun Adebayo, expressed optimism that the two-day visit would be informative and provide insight as regards the progress made since their last visit. He emphasized the University's commitment to integrity and excellence, assuring that sustainability would not be an issue after the project's completion while highlighting the measures put in place to ensure success.

Professor Gikiri Thuo, a World Bank Expert on ICT, commended the Vice-Chancellor for Covenant University's academic ranking as the top university among thousands. He praised the institution for its achievements and expressed confidence that Covenant would also become the top university in Africa, emphasizing the importance of leadership in achieving this goal.

Mrs. Airudulu Lulu of the National Universities Commission expressed hope that the two-day exercise would be enlightening, while Mr. Frank Adjei, Head of Finance at the Association of African Universities (AAU), described the project as special, highlighting its impending conclusion in June 2025. He stressed the need to meet the project's conditions and processes within the next year, emphasizing the importance of achieving 100 percent of the set objectives. He assured that any challenges faced by CApIC-ACE would be addressed at the AAU and World Bank levels to ensure the project's success and sustainability.

Professor Emeka Iweala, the Covenant University CApIC-ACE Center Leader, thanked the visitors for their ongoing support, noting that each visit motivates and enlightens the center. He assured them that the center had addressed the issues highlighted during their previous visit and had made significant progress toward achieving its objectives. He highlighted the center's effective management and commitment to sustainability.

During the exit meeting, Professor Agbor noted the changes and corrections that have been made in the Centre, which include improvements in the students, and more frequent sectorial meetings. He added that the sustainability plan is also impressive and advised that the school should support the improvement of the public health information app, FEDGEN-PHIS, developed by the Centre and commercialize its  data.

Professor Thuo added that Covenant University students have an excellent spirit; are polite, respectful, and content.  

The Vice-Chancellor thanked the team for the elaborate analysis, stating that their quarterly visit has helped to improve the center.  

In her closing remarks, the Registrar, Mrs. Regina A. Tobi-David, thanked the guests and promised that the management would consider all observations made, to make improvements.

The Centre Leader, Professor Iweala, deeply appreciated the guests for a successful and comprehensive mission. He promised that the challenges that have been noted would be addressed with the management's help. He stated that before the grant was received, the University supported the Centre financially. He assured the guests that they would work closely with the University's management to meet all requirements before the deadline and thanked the guest team and the university management for their support.