The Federal Government has issued a 30-day ultimatum to all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to submit detailed reports on unutilised intervention funds received from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), warning that sanctions will be imposed on institutions that fail to comply.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, gave the directive on Thursday during a meeting with heads of tertiary institutions in Abuja. He expressed concern over the billions of naira in unspent allocations lying idle across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, noting that such delays have hindered critical infrastructure and academic development.

“Institutions must submit reconciled reports of all unutilised funds within 30 days, which will be jointly verified. Unused funds may be redirected to priority projects, and carrying them over without strong justification will no longer be allowed,” Alausa said.

The minister stressed that procurement plans must align strictly with approved interventions. He also urged institutions to fast-track their approval processes to avoid project delays and ensure timely delivery of infrastructure and services.

To enhance accountability, Alausa announced the introduction of quarterly compliance reviews, capacity-building programmes, and a public dashboard that will display disbursement and utilisation data. Institutions will also be required to publish periodic project progress reports to boost transparency.

“TETFund must enforce compliance and ensure transparency, while institutional heads should drive urgency and accountability,” he added.

TETFund had earlier raised concerns over the rising volume of unaccessed and unutilised funds, warning that defaulting institutions could be delisted and their allocations diverted to more compliant schools.

Under the 2025 intervention cycle, TETFund allocated ₦1.6 trillion to Nigerian tertiary institutions for projects covering campus security, direct interventions, and healthcare infrastructure.

The new directive signals a stronger enforcement drive to ensure that the funds achieve their intended impact in improving facilities and academic standards across the country’s higher institutions.