The Centre for Public Accountability (CPA) has passed a vote of confidence on the management of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), commending its leadership for sustained reforms and improved service delivery in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
The organisation said it reached the decision following months of independent investigations and nationwide monitoring of TETFund projects and interventions. The group said its assessment covered infrastructure delivery, research funding, staff development programmes, ICT expansion, and overall institutional performance across beneficiary tertiary institutions.
According to CPA, the review involved field investigators, policy analysts, education experts, and procurement observers deployed across the country to evaluate project implementation and fund utilisation.
Executive Director of CPA, Comrade Olufemi Lawson, during a press conference on Thursday noted that TETFund has remained a critical driver of infrastructural and academic development in Nigeria’s universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education since its establishment. He disclosed that between 2011 and 2024, the Fund disbursed more than N1.8 trillion in interventions, with universities receiving about N918 billion, polytechnics N461 billion, and colleges of education N458 billion.
CPA stated that its findings showed over 152,000 projects executed nationwide under TETFund interventions, including lecture theatres, laboratories, libraries, ICT centres, hostels, administrative buildings, and research facilities. The group highlighted gains in academic staff training, noting that thousands of lecturers have benefitted from local and foreign postgraduate sponsorships, conferences, and professional development programmes.
It added that TETFund’s interventions in research funding, ICT development, entrepreneurship centres, and library resources have contributed significantly to improving teaching, learning, and innovation in higher institutions. CPA also referenced recent allocation frameworks, noting that institutions reportedly received billions of naira in annual intervention funds in 2025 and 2026, despite prevailing economic challenges.
While acknowledging existing concerns around procurement processes, project monitoring, and execution timelines, the organisation said the current management has demonstrated commitment to its statutory mandate. “The Centre for Public Accountability notes with satisfaction that despite prevailing economic challenges, inflationary pressures, exchange rate fluctuations, and rising project costs, TETFund has continued to sustain intervention activities across the country while maintaining a commendable level of institutional responsiveness. However, after a careful and evidence-based assessment of the operations of TETFund under the current leadership, the Centre for Public Accountability is convinced that the present management has demonstrated commitment toward the implementation of the Fund’s statutory mandate and has shown appreciable responsiveness to stakeholder engagement and institutional reforms,” CPA said.
The organisation passed a vote of confidence on the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, and the Board Chairman, Aminu Bello Masari, citing improved transparency, sustained funding, and infrastructural expansion across institutions. Lawson however urged the agency to strengthen monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure timely and efficient project delivery, while calling on beneficiary institutions to uphold accountability and avoid project abandonment.
CPA reaffirmed its commitment to continued independent oversight of public institutions, saying it will sustain evidence-based assessments aimed at improving transparency and service delivery in Nigeria’s governance system.
