By Atoyebi Nike
The Federal Government has directed all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to submit reconciled reports of unutilised Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) allocations within the next 30 days.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, gave the order on Thursday during a meeting with heads of institutions in Abuja. He said the ministry is facing challenges caused by allocations that remain unused due to administrative bottlenecks.
“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,” Alausa said.
He added that procurement plans must align with approved interventions and urged institutions to fast-track approval processes. Capacity-building programmes will be introduced to improve project management, compliance, and reporting, while quarterly reviews will track progress and enforce accountability.
The government will also launch a public transparency dashboard showing disbursement and utilisation data. Institutional heads, bursars, procurement officers, and project coordinators have been tasked with ensuring proper planning and reporting, while auditors and oversight bodies will monitor activities closely.
TETFund has repeatedly expressed concern over idle allocations. In July 2025, it threatened to delist non-compliant institutions. This year, N1.6 trillion was allocated to tertiary institutions for security, direct interventions, and healthcare.
