Minister warns of sanctions, orders public dashboard to track spending
The Federal Government has directed all tertiary institutions in the country to submit reports of intervention funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) that have not been utilised within the next 30 days.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, gave the directive on Thursday at a meeting with heads of tertiary institutions in Abuja.
Alausa said the ministry was concerned about the growing number of TETFund allocations that had remained unutilised, adding that such delays were stalling infrastructural development across campuses.
He lamented that funds that could have been used to upgrade facilities and academic environments were being tied down due to avoidable bureaucratic bottlenecks.
To address the challenge, the minister announced new capacity-building and monitoring initiatives to improve project execution, compliance, and transparency.
“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. Procurement plans must align with approved interventions, and approvals should be fast-tracked to prevent delays,” Alausa said.
He disclosed that the ministry would introduce quarterly progress reviews and enforce sanctions on institutions that fail to utilise their allocations effectively.
The minister further revealed plans to enhance transparency through a public dashboard that will display disbursement and utilisation data. Institutions will also be mandated to publish project progress reports regularly.
Alausa emphasised that accountability must be a collective duty among stakeholders in the tertiary education sector.
“TETFund must lead with professionalism, enforce compliance, and ensure transparency. Institutional heads should drive urgency and accountability, while bursars, procurement officers, and project coordinators must plan and report diligently.
“Auditors and oversight bodies are expected to monitor activities and flag irregularities. All stakeholders must uphold a sense of stewardship, recognising that every TETFund naira represents public trust,” he said.
The directive comes amid growing concerns over the volume of unutilised intervention funds in Nigeria’s higher institutions.
In July 2025, TETFund had threatened to delist institutions that failed to access or utilise their allocations, warning that such funds would be redirected to compliant institutions.
TETFund’s interventions are based on a demand-driven model under which schools submit proposals for approval according to their specific development needs.
In 2025, the agency allocated ₦1.6 trillion to Nigerian tertiary institutions, focusing on campus security, direct interventions, and healthcare infrastructure.
