Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) has unmasked the massive fraud going on in the National
Universities Commission (NUC) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) on
funding of Universitties in Nigeria.
According to a
statement released by ASUU on the allegation, NUC has metamorphous from being a
regulatory body for the Universities in the Country to being Consultant/Contractor
for Nigerian Universities, thereby abandoning their primary responsibilities of
supervising and developing good standard of education in the Country.
ASUU in a press release
signed by its President – Dr. Nasir Fagge Isa, said that massive
fraud/corruption/loot is presently ravaging the Nation’s Educational sector through
the activities of the NUC and TETFund. The release said that the 2billion naira
fund released by the Federal Government of Nigeria to TETFund for Hostel
Development in twelve (12) newly established Universities in the Country have
been mismanaged by the fund Administrators. NUC high-jacked the fund and now
serves as a Tender Board for Universities. NUC now awards contracts and sends
contractor to the new Universities which negate the law establishing the
Commission.
ASUU also accused NUC
of inflation of Contracts executed in Universities. According to the body, to
put salt to injury, the Contracts being awarded on behalf of these new
Universities, by the NUC are ridiculously over-inflated. For example, the issue
of students hostels, one billion two hundred million naira (N1.2 billion or
thereabout of the N2 billion released is supposed to be for hostel project
while the balance of N800 million or thereabout to be used for ICT Centre and
administrative buildings), 140 rooms; 560 bed spaces (4 bed spaces per room)
are being constructed in each of these 12 new Federal Universities by NUC at
the cost of 1.2 billion naira. This puts the cost of each bed space at 2.143
million naira and each room at 8.571 million naira. This is ridiculous and beyond
imagination. And all these are done with TETFund money. Funds meant to support
our decaying tertiary institutions, are fraudulently being siphoned through
over-inflated, misprioritised and illegal contracts, while the regular
allocation to other institutions is thinning out.
The body among other
things calls on the Federal Government to;
· Immediately halt the fraud going on at
TETFund, Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission.
· Investigate the perpetrators and bring
them to justice.
· Direct the Board to ensure that all
monies meant for Universities and other Tertiary Institution are released to
the Institutions and not to regulatory agencies.
· Direct the Board to ensure that the 2013
TETFund budget allocations, approved over six months ago, be implemented as
approved.
Finally, ASUU want
Federal Government to ensure that TETFund commences the release of the 2013
Regular and Special interventions to all benefiting institutions.
