TETFund’s boss pledges zero tolerance for corruption in Nigerian tertiary institutions

TETFund Denies Corruption Claims, Moves To Sanitise Tertiary Education Sector
Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Mr Sonny Echono, has said that claims in some quarters that the agency was a cesspool of corruption were totally untrue.

Reacting to allegations of a multi-billion naira contract fund misappropriation in an interview on Thursday, Echono stated that since taking over the mantle of leadership in the agency, due process was strictly being adhered to on anything done.

He said that apart from sanitising the education sector in the country, part of his mandate was to tackle corruption in the system.

On Wednesday, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged graft in TETFund.

The group urged the anti-graft agency to investigate alleged irregularities surrounding the contracts awarded by the agency.

The petition, which was addressed to Mr Olanipekun Olukoyede, the Executive Chairman of EFCC, was signed by HEDA’s Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju.

The petition cites the award of contracts totaling N3.8billion to Fides Et Ratio Academy and Pole Global Marketing for capacity-building courses and learning management systems.

But denying the allegation, Chief Executive Officer of Fides Et Ratio Academy, Paul Chukwuma, on Thursday disclosed that it only entered into an agreement with TETFund on a skill training program for directors and deputy directors of information and communication technology as well as students in higher education institutions in the country.

Providing more context into the issue, the TETFund boss said that there were no irregularities in the entire process as erroneously reported in some sections of the media.

Undergraduates in a lecture room

He said, “We use MoUs generally for training programmes. We have been doing these MoUs, and I inherited about nine of them when I came in. Once we are discussing an MoU, it is not a contract. They are two different things.

“But we do contracts. We advertise all our projects. Four of these projects are going to FEC.

“When I was asked to come here, I was given a mandate and I have introduced reforms, made very powerful enemies and you can see some bits of that. It shows that we have done a quick deal in reforming our systems to the acknowledgement of all our stakeholders.

“The initial impression that TETFund is a cesspool of corruption was an exaggerated one. I can confirm that from my experience. It was an exaggeration of what was happening. There were some type of cartels that were in charge of TETFund projects and they also felt that all manners of political leaders could come to TETFund, collect what they call special intervention. There were no form of system or processes in place. I invited ICPC to come and inspect the systems and they did. They have come back the second time.”

Echono went further to disclose that the agency will recover all monies collected by lecturers in Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education for overseas training not attended.

He added that the era of collecting funds from the government purse and not utilising them for the purpose for which they were received was over.

According to him, the agency was currently working with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to identify defaulters, recover funds collected before handing out appropriate punishment.

He said, “We have resolved the issue of lecturers who get trained and abscond. There are lecturers who collect money to go to workshops and conferences but don’t go. We are recovering money. We are punishing and prosecuting them.

“The ones that have absconded, we also have a programme through our embassies, through the embassies of the countries in which they are. That is why our memorandum of understanding is coming in again. When we sign an MoU with you, you must repatriate the student to us. It’s your responsibility. We didn’t have that before. That was why they could jump their bond. We’ve done a lot of reforms.”

Speaking further, Echono explained that partnerships entered into with some foreign firms have helped to expand the ICT infrastructure of many tertiary institutions across Nigeria, adding that the agency does not usurp the powers of the Federal Executive Council in the award of any contract for projects.

Restating the commitment of the Nigerian Government to improve tertiary education in the country through the agency, the TETFUND boss said that all previously abandoned projects were now being completed and efforts were ongoing to equip schools of higher learning with the capacity to produce graduates who will help to solve the nation’s economic problems.

He added, “What President Tinubu is focused on is the competitiveness of our tertiary institutions. He is also focused on skills.

“There are new initiatives in ICT that we are bringing on board. Our team members are moving across the country to polytechnics, universities, assessing their laboratories, workshops. We have innovation hubs and entrepreneurship centres we are replicating on our campuses. Entrepreneurship is there so that we produce people who will be wealth creators, not people who are queuing to look for jobs.”

TETFUND was established in 2011 to provide transformative interventions in public tertiary institutions in Nigeria through funding and effective project management.

It was also saddled with the responsibility to disburse, manage, and monitor education taxes to government-owned tertiary institutions in Nigeria.