When we build transmission lines, we are building for the community. When we equip their classrooms, we are building the community itself
By Moses Okorie
Pupils of Zaria Community School in Jaja, Kaduna State, have benefited from a donation of classroom desks and chairs by contractors executing the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN) NTEP-TS1 Lot 1 project, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The donation, presented on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, is aimed at improving classroom conditions and supporting learning in the community hosting the transmission expansion project.
The intervention comes as a relief to pupils who previously struggled with inadequate seating arrangements, with some forced to sit on bare floors and share overcrowded benches during lessons.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Principal Manager of the Project Management Team (PMT), Kaduna Sub-Region, Engr. Onaga Jacob Ugochukwu, said the gesture demonstrated the importance of ensuring that infrastructure projects deliver benefits beyond their immediate technical objectives.
He explained that supporting education in host communities was part of building sustainable relationships and contributing to local development.
“When we build transmission lines, we are building for the community. When we equip their classrooms, we are building the community itself,” Ugochukwu said.
He added that a conducive learning environment could improve pupils’ educational experience and help nurture future professionals who might contribute to the development and maintenance of Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure.
The donation generated excitement among the pupils, who eagerly took their places on the newly provided furniture.
In his response, the District Head of Jaja, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammed, expressed appreciation to TCN, AfDB and the contractors for remembering the educational needs of the host community.
He described the donation as a demonstration of meaningful partnership, noting that the organisations had extended their engagement with Jaja beyond the construction of transmission towers and power lines.
“This is what partnership looks like,” Muhammed said, pledging the community’s continued cooperation with the project and its commitment to protecting electricity infrastructure in the area.
He said the gesture would further strengthen relations between the community and the stakeholders responsible for the transmission expansion project.
Also present at the event were the Principal Manager, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), Ahmed Rufai Sani, and Senior Manager, Engr. Afeez Kareem, of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), TCN Corporate Headquarters.
The donation underscores the importance of incorporating community development initiatives into major infrastructure projects, particularly those implemented in areas where residents accommodate essential national assets.
For the pupils of Zaria Community School, the new desks and chairs represent an improvement in their immediate learning environment, while the gesture reinforces the need for host communities to benefit from projects carried out within their localities.