CPA Passes Vote Of Confidence On TETFund Executive Secretary, Commends ₦1.8tn Education Interventions

0

The Centre for Public Accountability (CPA) has passed a vote of confidence on the management and Board of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), citing what it described as remarkable achievements in infrastructural development, research support, academic staff training, and overall improvement in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.

The endorsement was announced on Thursday during a press conference in Abuja following what the organisation said were several months of independent investigations and monitoring activities into the operations and intervention programmes of TETFund under the leadership of its Executive Secretary, Arc. Sonny Echono.

Addressing journalists, the Executive Director of CPA, Comrade Olufemi Lawson, said the assessment was conducted as part of the organisation’s mandate to promote transparency, accountability, prudent management of public resources, and effective service delivery in public institutions across Nigeria.

According to the speech signed by the Director of Research and Development of CPA, Ganzallo Gbenga, the exercise involved independent monitors, researchers, policy analysts, procurement observers, education development experts, and field investigators deployed across various geopolitical zones to assess the implementation of TETFund projects and interventions nationwide.

Lawson said the organisation engaged extensively with management of tertiary institutions, academic unions, students’ representatives, contractors, host communities, and regulatory agencies before arriving at its conclusions.

“Our findings indicate that TETFund has continued to play a strategic and indispensable role in the growth and development of tertiary education in Nigeria.

“Established under the TETFund Act of 2011 as an intervention agency funded through education tax, the institution has over the years become one of the most critical pillars supporting infrastructural development, academic advancement, research funding, staff training, and institutional capacity development in public tertiary institutions across the federation,” Lawson stated.

He disclosed that available records showed that between 2011 and 2024, TETFund disbursed well over ₦1.8 trillion to public tertiary institutions across the country.

According to the CPA, universities received over ₦918 billion within the period under review, while polytechnics received more than ₦461 billion and colleges of education over ₦458 billion.

The organisation further revealed that more than 152,000 infrastructural projects had been executed through TETFund interventions nationwide.

The CPA said the vote of confidence was based on evident infrastructural improvements in beneficiary institutions, expansion of academic and research support programmes, sustained intervention funding despite economic constraints, improved strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and relative transparency in project implementation.

The organisation, however, urged TETFund to strengthen its monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure that approved projects are executed efficiently, transparently, and within stipulated timelines.

It also advised beneficiary institutions to uphold accountability, avoid project abandonment, and ensure prudent utilisation of intervention funds for the benefit of students and staff.

The CPA also commended members of the media for their role in promoting public accountability and democratic governance in Nigeria.