The Nigerian government has threatened to impose sanctions because universities and polytechnics failed to utilize TETF Fund allocations

The Federal Government has ordered all tertiary institutions in the country to submit detailed reports on unspent intervention funds received from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) within 30 days, and warned that sanctions will be imposed on institutions that fail to use the funds properly.

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, issued the directive on Thursday in Abuja in a meeting with vice-chancellors, chancellors and chancellors of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

Alausa expressed concern over the large amount of TETF Fund allocations sitting idle in some institutions, and described this trend as a major impediment to infrastructure growth and academic progress.

“Each institution must submit a reconciliation report for all unused funds within 30 days. The report will be jointly verified, and unused funds can be diverted to high priority projects. Diversion of allocations without clear reasons can no longer be tolerated,” said the Minister of Finance.

He further directed that all procurement activities should be in line with the approved intervention plans and urged school authorities to speed up the internal approval process to prevent project delays.

To strengthen transparency and accountability, Alausa announced that the ministry will initiate quarterly compliance audits and introduce capacity building initiatives to improve project implementation and reporting standards.

He also revealed plans to create a public dashboard that will display real-time data on disbursement and utilization of TETF Funds, while institutions will be mandated to publish the latest developments on their projects.

“Sanctions will apply to institutions that fail to utilize funds effectively. TETFund must ensure strict compliance and transparency, while institutional leaders are expected to be held accountable for efficient implementation,” he said.

TETFund has previously raised concerns over the increasing volume of unaccessed and unutilized allocations across tertiary institutions. Starting July 2025, the agency threatens to eliminate institutions that are not performing well and redirect their funds to institutions that have proven capable of utilizing them quickly.

Based on the 2025 intervention cycle, TETFund is disbursing ₦1.6 trillion to national higher education institutions for projects in the areas of security, direct infrastructure development, and healthcare support.