•Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke
The immediate past President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has raised concern that over ₦600 billion in unutilised Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) allocations belonging to beneficiary institutions remain idle in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Speaking at the 2025 TETFund Board of Trustees National Town Hall Meeting in Abuja, Osodeke urged the federal government to sanction heads of institutions who fail to deploy allocated intervention funds, reports The Guardian.
He stressed that such negligence undermines TETFund’s mandate to improve teaching, learning, and research infrastructure across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
“There’s a huge sum of money in the Central Bank belonging to institutions that have not been utilised. The last time we checked, it was close to ₦600 billion. None of the universities or Vice Chancellors responsible for this has been punished,” he said.
“This is public money given to universities over the years. Some have had the funds for 10 to 15 years without using them, and several projects have been abandoned. Measures must be put in place to ensure accountability among university administrators and governing councils,” he added.
Osodeke also expressed concern over the newly introduced Development Levy in Nigeria’s Tax Act, warning that it would reduce TETFund’s revenue inflow from 3 percent to 2 percent.
The new 4 percent Development Levy on assessable profits—set to replace multiple sectoral taxes such as the Tertiary Education Tax, NASENI Levy, IT Levy, and Police Trust Fund Levy—will take effect on January 1, 2026.
“Whether we like it or not, there’s a reduction in fund allocation to TETFund. The new Development Levy will cut its share from 3 percent to 2 percent. This means fewer resources for educational development, and we should not accept that,” Osodeke warned.
