ASUU gives reason governors establish universities they can’t fund

The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Emmanuel Osodeke, has accused state governors of establishing universities solely to access funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

In an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, Osodeke stated that most governors create duplicate universities to benefit from TETFund, rather than prioritizing education.

According to Osodeke, TETFund was intended as an intervention fund for public universities, but politicians and civil servants have exploited it through fraudulent contracts and procurement processes.

He emphasized that universities are supposed to be funded by the Federal Government and states, not relying solely on TETFund.

Osodeke expressed concern that the pursuit of TETFund money has led to shady practices, diverting funds away from the intended purpose of supporting education.

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He said, “Any governor today establishing a university is eyeing TETFund as a source of funding.

“TETFund was created as an intervention fund, not the major funding. The universities belong to the Federal Government and government is supposed to fund them and states are supposed to fund their own.

“It’s an intervention fund but there are people who want to have access to that money from the political circle, from the bureaucratic circle, at all cost. We are struggling with that,” he added.

ASUU has been vocal about the need for proper funding and governance in Nigeria’s education sector.

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