EXPOSED: MASSIVE FRAUD GOING ON AT NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES COMMISSION (NUC) AND TERTIARY EDUCATION TRUST FUND (TETFund) – ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF UNIVERSITIES (ASUU) ALLEGED

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.