- Tunji Bello donates multipurpose auditorium to LASU, Epe Campus, as part of his 60th birthday legacy.
- The project was funded through donations from friends and personal sacrifice, including the sale of property.
- The facility comes with free WiFi and a one-year private maintenance arrangements.
A new multipurpose auditorium was officially unveiled at Lagos State University (LASU), Epe Campus, on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the facility was built and donated by former Commissioner and seasoned public servant, Honorable Tunji Bello, as part of his commitment to education and human capital development.
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The unveiling ceremony had in attendance Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, top government officials, and the Vice Chancellor of LASU, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji Bello.
Speaking at the event, Hon. Bello explained that the project was conceived as a way of marking his 60th birthday in 2021 and as a long-lasting legacy for generations to come.
He revealed that the idea was initially suggested by his wife, Professor Olatunji-Bello, before she became Vice Chancellor of the institution.
“By choosing to invest the money through sowing the seed in the vineyard of knowledge, I believe we are invariably preserving my 60th birthday cake in a way that it will be shared and savoured by many generations to come,” he said.
Bello recounted how the project was funded, noting that he opted against a lavish celebration and instead requested that his friends convert birthday gifts into cash donations to support the auditorium.
“A very wealthy friend and known businessman had wanted to surprise me with a brand new Toyota Land-cruiser Jeep.
I appealed to him to convert it to cash. With donations from other able friends and well-wishers, we got started in 2021,” he disclosed.
He also narrated the financial challenges encountered during the project, particularly the effects of inflation.
“To continue, I had to sell my property at Magodo estate to keep the workers on site in order that it may not become an abandoned project after three years of construction,” Bello revealed.
Addressing the students of LASU, he urged them to take full advantage of the new facility.
“I sincerely hope this auditorium will inspire you to double your zeal to excel in your academic pursuit and become the next Ayodele Awogbemi, Wole Soyinka, Chike Obi, Isa Abubakar, among other academic giants in our history.”
He further announced that the auditorium would be equipped with free WiFi courtesy of VDT Communications and that its maintenance would be handled by a private company for the first year to ensure sustainability.
Hon. Bello dedicated the project as a token of gratitude to God and Lagos State, recalling how he once benefitted from a Lagos State Government scholarship as a student at the University of Ibadan in the early 1980s.
