The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has raised concerns over a polytechnic in the Southeast receiving billions of naira in annual intervention funds despite having only 30 students.
TETFund Executive Secretary Sonny Echono disclosed on Monday in Abuja during the 2025 one-day strategic interactive workshop for heads of institutions, bursars, and procurement officers of beneficiary institutions.
Describing the situation as shocking and embarrassing, Echono revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is already investigating the matter.
Although the Executive Secretary did not mention the name of the polytechnic, he noted that the institution was established four years ago.
“I was so embarrassed when it was brought to my attention that a particular polytechnic in the South East, which has been there for four years, has only 30 students. In the Southeast, among all the places you visit in any state, including the Northern region, you will see students from the Southeast in those institutions, yet this was put at their doorstep. They have only 30 students and have been accessing all their annual disbursements. We at TETFund are disbursing billions to institutions. Furthermore, who are the people they are spending the money on? We describe it as a waste of money. It is so bad that EFCC is on it. I was shocked and did not realise it was that bad,” he said.
He cautioned that institutions that fail to access, utilise, or account for funds effectively, or those not meeting enrollment and academic performance standards, risk losing eligibility for TETFund’s support programmes.
He clarified that the policy’s purpose is to protect the integrity and effectiveness of the Fund’s interventions, not to punish institutions.
His words: “Let me be clear: institutions that consistently fail to access, utilise, or retire funds appropriately, or that fall short of enrollment and academic performance thresholds, risk being delisted as TETFund beneficiary institutions.”
According to him, the Fund has allocated over N70 billion for alternative power sources to beneficiary institutions this year.
This, he explained, will come in the form of solar and hybrid power.
TETFund allocates substantial funds to tertiary institutions annually, with polytechnics typically receiving about N1.165 billion—N1.015 billion in direct disbursement and an additional N150 million under zonal intervention.
Meanwhile, the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) issued goodwill messages praising TETFund for its notable role in advancing tertiary education in Nigeria and enhancing the sector’s overall development.
