TETFund Intervention Fund: Universities’ governing councils kick against Nigerian lawmakers’ directive
TETFund Intervention Fund: Universities’ governing councils kick against Nigerian lawmakers’ directive
A statement by COPSUN Chairman, Suleiman Mahdi, noted that the lawmaker’s directive also encroached on the universities’ autonomy.
The Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities (COPSUN) has asked the House of Representatives Committee on TETFund to withdraw their recent directive to Nigerian tertiary institutions regarding the allocations they received from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
COPSUN said the lawmakers’ directive that the institutions should stay in action on the implementation pending an interface with them would affect the budgetary implementation of the institutions.
A statement by COPSUN Chairman, Suleiman Mahdi, noted that the lawmaker’s directive also encroached on the universities’ autonomy.
“…this Committee is humbly calling on the House of Representatives on TETFUND to rescind this directive and allow for further consultations if need be,” the statement reads in part.
Lawmakers’ directive
PREMIUM TIMES had exclusively reported how the House Committee on TETFUND asked all public tertiary institutions to hold the implementation of the budget for the funds pending an interface with them.
Days after TETFund announced the release of the intervention funds, the House Committee, chaired by Miriam Onuoha, wrote the Committee of Provosts of Colleges of Education, the Committee of Rectors of Polytechnics and that Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, directing them to halt the implementation of the intervention fund until they are cleared to proceed by lawmakers.
The committee asked them to submit full implementation details including drawings, designs and specifications for all projects and procurements as contained in their 2024 intervention allocation letter issued to the em by TETFund.
They asked the universities to submit 30 hard copies and a soft copy before 23 February.
But some heads of the institutions who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES in an earlier report suspected it was an attempt by the lawmakers to shake them down and extort them of some of the funds.
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This also comes at the time that the universities believe they were making progress as regards their autonomy, an issue that has repeatedly featured in the demands of the workers’ unions in the universities.
The government only recently announced the exemption of the universities from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), a platform the lecturers have consistently said is against the autonomy of the institutions.
COPSUN reacts
COPSUN is the first to react to the letters written to the association of heads of institutions rather than the individual institutions themselves.
COPSUN noted the universities each have a governing council who are by law empowered “to award or approve the award of contracts after due procurement processes and are doing so in exercise of the executive prerogative.”
“With the greatest respect to the House Committee, we feel that their action is not only an encroachment on the autonomy of the universities but an infringement on the doctrine of the separation of powers which has the potential for conflict among the tiers and branches of government,” COPSUN said.
Furthermore, time is of the essence in executing these contracts, and with the upward trend in the dollar exchange rate with the resultant inflation, this could ultimately increase costs.
“The House Committee may wish to be respectfully reminded that the funds disbursed by TETFUND belong to the states and are subject to appropriation and exclusive oversight by the various states’ Houses of Assembly. Therefore, the directive, even if valid, should not apply to the state-owned universities.”
“While expressing its highest regards to the esteemed members of the House of Representatives and having no doubt that their actions are well-intentioned, this Committee is humbly calling on the House of Representatives on TETFUND to rescind this directive and allow for further consultations, if need be.”
Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe(Premium Times Nigeria)
