The House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), decided to stop the 2024 TETFund intervention in state-owned universities. This decision has been met with protests from the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities (COPSUN).
The decision was described as unprecedented in a press release signed by the committee’s secretary, Suleiman Abubakar Mahdi, on behalf of the chairman.
According to Mahdi, the House Committee’s decision infringes the doctrine of the separation of powers and may spark confrontation between the various branches and tiers of government.
“It should be noted that the Governing Councils of the various state-owned universities are, by law, empowered to award or approve the award of contracts after due procurement processes and are exercising this executive prerogative.
“The House Committee may wish to be respectfully reminded that the funds disbursed by TETFund belong to the states and are subject to appropriation and exclusive oversight by the various states’ Houses of Assembly.
“Therefore, the directive, even if valid, should not apply to state-owned universities.
“Furthermore, time is of the essence in executing these contracts, and with the upward trend in the dollar exchange rate resulting in inflation, this could ultimately increase costs,” the statement read.
The statement further called on the Committee to reconsider the directive and allow for further consultations.
The National Assembly recently put a stop to the N683 billion TETFund intervention projects scheduled for 2024 and requested all universities to submit all relevant documents to the committee.