It is common for any institution that tries to fight corruption in Nigeria to experience resistance in various ways. It is simply a matter of corruption fighting back. That is exactly what is happening at the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Without doubt, the Executive Secretary, Arc. Sonny Echono, has embarked on reforms since his appointment last year. Bringing his vast experience and contacts to bear, the Fund has witnessed glaring achievements. Together with his formidable team, Echono has attempted to put things right, especially with regards to research and development, human capital enhancement as well as seamless release of funds for projects to beneficiary institutions across the country.

Unfortunately, TETFund has recently witnessed a surge in the activities of fraudulent individuals and groups, who devise every means to defraud stakeholders and unsuspecting members of the public in the name of the Fund.

Also witnessed was an attempt to malign the leadership of the Fund and disrupt its activities over management’s determination to uphold integrity and not yield to frivolous requests that undermined the TETFund’s mandate.

Some of the antics employed by these individuals and groups include allegation of contract fraud and procurement racketeering. One of such attempts aimed at maligning the current leadership of the Fund was through a publication by an online medium on July 20, 2022 captioned, “Disquiet in Nigeria Education Agency, TETFund over Contracts Fraud, Procurement Racketeering, Others under New Head, Sonny Echono.”

These unfounded allegations came barely four months after Echono assumed office as the Executive Secretary of the Fund. The Fund issued a statement two days after, precisely on July 22, 2022, titled, “Corruption Fights Back as Echono Implements Sweeping Reforms”. Suffice to say that the allegations were not only proved to be lacking in merit but it was also discovered to have been sponsored by self-seeking individuals and groups who felt aggrieved at the sweeping reforms introduced at the Fund to eliminate corruption and promote accountability.

Despite addressing the unfounded publication, certain individuals and groups who had sought all forms of unholy sponsorship, support and patronage from the Fund but were denied have continued to emerge under different guises, with allegations of corruption at the Fund, copying and pasting same spurious information contained in the earlier publication.

The Fund equally received reports of fake Special Intervention Approval Letters, which were presented to Heads of Beneficiary Institutions by fraudulent individuals who claimed to represent the interest of the Fund. Heads of institutions have been cautioned to beware of this practice and verify all transactions directly from TETFund. Security agencies have also been informed and some arrests were made including an ongoing prosecution.

Another attempt to smear the image of the leadership of the Fund was through social media scam. The Fund reportedly received various reports about the activities of some nefarious individuals and groups that attempted to commit fraud using the name and profile of the Executive Secretary. These people operated fake social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with claims of providing opportunities of TETFund procurement jobs to unsuspecting members of the public.

In all these, the Fund has repeatedly cautioned members of the public on the fact that the Executive Secretary was not on any of these social media platforms and therefore, could not transact any kind of business on them.

The scammers had also tried to penetrate through scholarship and grants. There have been reports of fraudulent claims of payment of grants and award of scholarships to Nigerian students. This was usually circulated on social media platforms with a link directing victims to fraudulent websites. The intent was to create disaffection among students towards the Fund. Reports of fake employment opportunities advertised online have also become rampant and the Fund has been active in dispelling such.

TETFund has been established as an international brand with two countries currently understudying its system and processes. Ghana has since adopted the same model with the establishment of Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). The Fund has also entered into 11 international partnership agreements and appointed into global knowledge-based institutions spanning research, innovation and funding models. So, considering the giant strides and positive contributions it has made towards national development, it is a great disservice to the country for faceless, self-serving and malevolent interlopers to attempt to discredit the agency through false, baseless and unfounded allegations. It is only imperative for security agencies to intensify efforts towards curbing this ugly trend by tracking down the criminals and bringing them to justice.