The Federal Government has expressed support for the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over its plan to investigate Vice-Chancellors accused of corruption and mismanagement of funds provided through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
ASUU had raised concerns about what it described as weak oversight in the execution of TETFund-funded projects across Nigerian universities, warning that some university administrators had allegedly diverted funds meant for critical academic development.
Speaking in Abuja during the public presentation of 72 academic textbooks sponsored by TETFund, ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, said the union would soon begin a detailed scrutiny of university managements to ensure accountability.
Piwuna said the union had observed worrying patterns in the way funds allocated to universities were being managed, adding that ASUU would soon begin a thorough investigation of Vice-Chancellors and university authorities.
“We are going to turn our searchlights on the VCs and our universities soon. Honestly, we will. Because funds are not being properly managed at the university levels, we are going to take them up to make sure that they account for all of them,” he said.
The ASUU president lamented that despite increased financial support to universities in recent years, several institutions had failed to effectively utilise the funds allocated to them.
According to him, while some institutions mismanaged the funds, others allegedly diverted the resources to purposes different from those for which they were intended.
“Yes, there is plenty of money being given to the universities in recent years. Sadly, many of them have not utilised it effectively. While some of them have mismanaged it, others have used them for different purposes than what they were meant for,” he added.
Piwuna also criticised what he described as a growing tendency among some institutions to rely on expectations of fresh TETFund disbursements rather than properly accounting for previous allocations.
“They come back because they know that TETFund will make another disbursement to the institutions the following year. I think there should be more scrutiny about what’s been going on with TETFund interventions in the universities, especially in the Centres of Excellence,” he said.
He further expressed concern about the performance of several TETFund-supported Centres of Excellence across the country, noting that many were operating below expectations despite receiving substantial funding.
“TETFund has just added about six more Centres of Excellence to the existing 30 that are obviously not well. Most of them are performing below expectations. Hence, they must be made to account for those monies,” Piwuna stated.
Responding to the concerns, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the Federal Government supports ASUU’s call for greater scrutiny of university administrators and the management of public funds.
Alausa warned that some heads of tertiary institutions were treating their institutions like personal empires, stressing the need for stronger accountability mechanisms.
“Several of our Vice Chancellors, Rectors, and Provosts are running the institutions like an empire,” the minister said.
He urged ASUU to work closely with the government to ensure that public funds allocated to tertiary institutions are properly managed and used for their intended purposes.
“We need your help in ensuring that fiduciary responsibilities are met and that they are held accountable. Every single naira that we deploy to those institutions should be used the way they are meant to be used,” Alausa added.
The minister assured that the Federal Ministry of Education would collaborate with ASUU and other stakeholders to ensure that TETFund resources are effectively utilised to strengthen Nigeria’s tertiary education system.