The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, has barred tertiary institutions with delayed or abandoned projects from accessing new intervention projects under the 2027 allocation cycle.
Chairman of the TETFund Board of Trustees, Aminu Masari, announced this in a statement issued by the Fund’s Head of Public Relations, Abdulmumin Oniyangi.
Masari said the decision followed persistent delays in the completion of TETFund-funded projects across beneficiary institutions, despite previous measures introduced to address the problem.
He explained that fluctuations in the prices of construction materials, including cement, reinforcement bars, sanitary and electrical fittings, had initially contributed to delays in project execution.
According to him, TETFund introduced a special intervention line in 2023 specifically to assist institutions in completing affected projects.
The TETFund chairman said a recent assessment showed that the intervention had recorded significant success, with many of the affected projects now completed.
However, he expressed concern that new cases of delayed projects were still emerging, attributing the situation largely to institutional leadership and administrative bottlenecks rather than funding constraints.
Masari identified lack of continuity by successive heads of beneficiary institutions and delays in processing payments to contractors as some of the factors responsible for the delays.
He said TETFund-funded projects would no longer be allowed to suffer because of internal bureaucracy or politics within beneficiary institutions.
Under the new directive, all beneficiary institutions are required to compile comprehensive lists of projects that have exceeded their completion timelines by more than six months.
They are also expected to identify the reasons for the delays, propose practical solutions, rank the projects according to priority, and provide detailed estimates of the funds required for completion.
The institutions are further expected to strengthen project supervision through their Physical Planning and Maintenance Departments.
TETFund directed institutions with delayed projects to prioritise their completion using their annual, zonal, and high-impact intervention allocations.
To ensure compliance, TETFund says monitoring teams comprising members of the Board and technical staff will conduct physical inspections of affected projects nationwide in August and September 2026.
The inspection reports and proposals submitted by the institutions will then be reviewed at the Board’s statutory meeting in October, where projects eligible for inclusion in the 2027 disbursement guidelines will be considered.
TETFund is responsible for providing intervention funding for infrastructure, research, academic staff development, library enhancement and other capital projects in public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The latest measure is aimed at ensuring that intervention funds are translated into completed and functional facilities that will improve teaching, learning and research, while preventing public resources from being tied down in abandoned or distressed projects.
RN
