Who feels uneasy by achievements of TETFund ?

SIR: The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is under attack. TETFund is an intervention agency set up to provide supplementary support to all levels of public tertiary educational institutions, specifically Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, with the main objective of using funding alongside project management for the rehabilitation, restoration and consolidation of tertiary education in Nigeria.

TETFund was originally established as Education Trust Tax by Act No 7 of 1993 as amended by Act No 40 of 1998. The Act was later repealed and replaced with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act No. 16 of 2011.

What is the substance of the attack initiated by some shadowy operator (s) that petitioned the National Security Adviser,NSA, claiming the Fund gave out money to a political party in a Northern state? Specifically, a section of the social media has been inundated with images of a letter purportedly written by the Woman Leader of the Adamawa State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, to the NSA, part of which contains insinuations that the party received funding of N325 million between October 2023 and October 2024 from TETFund.

The lady also alleged that “Contracts from TETFund at FCE Yola and GMMC Yola for the benefit of the party was kept secret. They sold contracts and concealed the proceed.” Basic ignorance by any stretch cannot become a licence for defaming critical institutions and responsible personalities who manage them.

Good a thing, Mr. Abdulmumin Oniyangi, Director, Public Affairs of TETFund, has responded to bring quick clarity to defog the misinformation wittingly or unwittingly deployed in the mix of mischief and malice to damage a vital institution and its founding principles.

His words: “We wish to state unequivocally that the insinuation is not only preposterous and totally false, but also a great disservice to the Nation that an individual of such political standing, would engage in such frivolity without an iota of evidence. 

“To further buttress the futility of the allegations, we wish to state in clear terms that General Murtala Mohammed College (GMMC), Yola, where TETFund contracts were alleged to have been sold is not a Beneficiary Institution of TETFund; while FCE Yola which is a Beneficiary Institution is solely responsible for engagement of its contractors in line with the policy of the Fund.

“The Fund has observed that allegations of this nature, sponsored by desperate individuals, have become the trend in recent times but will not be deterred in carrying out its statutory mandate which remains funding for the rehabilitation, restoration and consolidation of tertiary education in Nigeria. 

“The Fund has undertaken this mandate steadily over the years both as ETF and TETFund and with renewed vigour under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We advise that detractors get their facts right so as to avoid misleading the public.”

Clearly, TETFUND does not directly award contracts but releases money to beneficiary institutions. Its statutory configuration does not permit it to patronise political parties or politicians but only beneficiary public educational institutions in all corners of the country. Its statutory mandate would be defeated if it strays to patronizing political entities or politicians.
• Johnson Momodu, a public affairs analyst, is based in Benin.