Group seeks Tinubu’s intervention in release of N600b varsity revitalisation fund

Determined to continue its advocacy aimed at improving the quality of infrastructure in public universities across the country for enhanced teaching and learning, a non-governmental organization (NGO), Education Advancement Initiative (EAI), has called for the immediate release of N600 billion this year as revitalisation fund for the public universities in Nigeria.

To this end, the group, which raised the alarm over a plot to frustrate the release of the varsity revitalisation fund, appealed to President Bola Tinubu for intervention to quickly save the university system by directing the Accountant General’s Office to release the N600 billion captured in the 2023 and 2025 budgets to universities.

EAI Director of Programme, Dr. Abimbola Tobi, who spoke to newsmen in Abuja, blamed government functionaries, particularly officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General’s Office, for a deliberate plot to sabotage public university education in order to promote private ones that they own or have vested interests in.

The group said the timely release of the funds will ensure that deteriorating infrastructure at the university campuses is rehabilitated, as well as pay the outstanding liabilities to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities, among others, to forestall disruption of the academic calendar by the unions.

The group also accused government officials of an alleged clandestine plot to destabilise public universities in favour of privately owned ones, which they have vested interest in.

They decried the non-release of N300 billion for the university revitalisation fund, which was captured in the 2023 Appropriation Act but was not accessed due to the alleged failure on the part of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to release the monies to the benefiting institutions.

The organisation has insisted that the N300 billion provided for in the 2023 Appropriation Act be rolled over and another N300 billion for 2025 be released this year to cater to the long neglect which the university system has suffered.

Tobi said the lack of funding of public universities by successive governments portends grave danger to the nation’s development.

He said, “Since the government failed to release the 2023 funds in 2024, it will only be proper and just that both the 300 billion for 2023 be rolled over and another 300 billion for 2025 be released, amounting to 600 billion as total releases for this year.”

Dr. Tobi advised the federal government to provide a special emergency fund to tackle this problem instead of waiting for an envelope budgetary system.

According to him, due to long-term neglect, infrastructure at the public universities has decayed so much that only the release of 2023 and 2025 funds amounting to 600 billion will be reasonable to complete ongoing projects and undertake new ones.

“We urge the federal government to pay at least two tranches of 2023 and 2025 for meaningful projects to be carried out.”

He stated that the refusal of the government to release the university revitalisation fund is gradually killing public universities, adding that infrastructure that could aid teaching and learning has become an eyesore in almost all the universities in Nigeria.

He said, “If public university education is allowed to collapse due to the government’s lukewarm attitude to funding, the country will suffer dire consequences as there will be an increased crime rate precipitated by joblessness and lack of skill to engage in productive ventures by the young population.”

According to a trained educational programme specialist, the Tinubu-led administration’s Student Loan Scheme will amount to nothing should the infrastructure decay in the nation’s citadels of learning remain unattended.

The EAI official insisted on the implementation of the 2009 agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU on the Needs Assessment programme.

According to him, the organisation’s recent interaction indicates that ASUU is deeply angered by the failure of the Federal Government to honor the 2009 Needs Assessment agreement aimed at providing N220 billion annually as an intervention fund for the revitalization of public universities in Nigeria.

He warned against abandoning the needs assessment scheme designed to provide funds for the reinvigoration of public universities, particularly the rehabilitation of decaying infrastructure as well as the provision of state-of-the-art teaching and learning equipment to the schools.

He further appealed to the president to cause the immediate release of funds for the continuation of critical projects in the institutions being executed under the needs assessment project.

According to him, the university community anxiously awaits the commencement of the projects.

Tobi further advised the president, whom he acknowledged has made significant statements towards revamping the education sector, to release funds for the projects to ensure a stable and quality academic environment.

Recall that the Federal Government, in 2009, reached an agreement with ASUU for the provision of 1.3 trillion Naira in annual tranches of N220 billion over a period of 5 years as intervention funds for the revitalization of universities.

A review of the agreement was done in 2014. However, it is yet to be implemented, resulting in several industrial actions by ASUU, which distort the academic calendar in the ivory tower.

Tobi revealed that officials of the Federal Ministry of Education are making frantic efforts to prevent any form of strike action under the Tinubu-led government but alleged that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation is yet to show concern in addressing the matter.