VCs, rectors, provosts lament extortion by Reps
‘Lawmakers usurping tertiary institutions councils’powers’ Standing committee chair, House spokesperson mum
Some vice chancellors of Nigerian universities, rectors of polytechnics and provosts of colleges of education, have cried out over alleged extortion by the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and Other Services.
They decried what they called “unwholesome overbearing influence” in internal matters of the institutions.
The latest outcry came in respect of the planned implementation of the 2024 approved normal intervention projects of TETfund in federal and state universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Some vice chancellors, rectors and provosts, as well as bursars and accounting officers of the institutions, who spoke to Daily Trust Saturday, alleged that extortion by the House Committee on TETFUND had been the trend over the years, as members of the committee make life difficult for them.
One of the vice chancellors said the committee had taken the alleged “intrusion” to another level.
He said, “Besides directing us to come with ‘Ghana Must Go’ bags of photocopied documents, we have been forced to pay money in order to get a clean bill. I am not sure they are even reading the documents.
“It appears they (the legislators) are abusing the powers the Nigerian constitution gives them,” he said.
Most of the officials who spoke to this newspaper pleaded that their names should not be revealed for fear of being further blackmailed.
When Daily Trust Saturday reached out to the chairperson of the committee, Princess Mariam Onuoha, for her reaction to the allegations, she simply sent the phone number of the spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, to respond.
When our reporter reminded her that the allegations bordered directly on her committee and that it was important for her to react to the issues, she simply replied via a text message, “When you are done with Hon Akin on the matter then you would see there is no need for further engagement on a mere invitation by a standing committee. Thank you very much.”
When our reporter called the House spokesperson, Akin and explained that he was referred by the TETFUND committee chairperson, he requested that the questions be sent to him for reaction.
The questions were sent to him on January 24, 2024 via Whatsapp, and the message marked read, but he is yet to provide the reaction despite reminders.
Many institutions under ‘scrutiny’
There are 53 federal universities, 63 state universities, 38 federal polytechnics, 49 state polytechnics and many federal and state colleges of education, among other institutions.
Many of the institutions benefit from TETFund, which mandates include providing essential physical infrastructure for teaching and learning, instructional material and equipment, support for research and publications, academic staff training and development.
Questionable oversight
Daily Trust Saturday learnt that each TETFund benefitting university, polytechnic or college of education is allegedly being asked to pay N2million to facilitate the “verification” of the documents submitted to the House committee.
The recent allegations are coming on the heels of letters sent by the committee
When Daily Trust Saturday reached out to the chairperson of the committee, Princess Mariam Onuoha, for her reaction to the allegations, she simply sent the phone number of the spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, to respond