Chairman of TETFund BoT, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari
By Felix Khanoba
The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has introduced tougher measures to address persistent delays in the execution of intervention projects across beneficiary tertiary institutions, declaring that institutions with unfinished projects will not qualify for new interventions under the 2027 funding cycle.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Director of Public Affairs, Abdulmumin Oniyangi, following the Board’s resolution to curb the recurring challenge of abandoned and delayed projects in institutions benefiting from the Fund’s interventions.
According to the statement, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, acknowledged that several factors have contributed to the delays, including the sharp increase in the prices of essential construction materials such as cement, reinforcement bars, and electrical and sanitary fittings.
He noted that in response to these challenges, the Board introduced a special intervention window in 2023 specifically to support the completion of stalled projects.
The Board said a recent assessment showed that the initiative had achieved significant success, with many previously delayed projects now completed through the intervention.
Despite the progress, the Board expressed concern over the continued failure of some beneficiary institutions to complete projects within approved timelines. It attributed the situation largely to changes in institutional leadership, where new heads often abandon ongoing projects in favour of fresh ones, as well as delays in processing payments to contractors.
The BoT further stressed that TETFund-funded projects must not be undermined by internal bureaucracy or political considerations within beneficiary institutions.
To permanently address the recurring problem, the Board approved a series of measures for immediate implementation.
Under the new directives, all beneficiary institutions are required to prepare a comprehensive inventory of projects that have exceeded their scheduled completion dates by more than six months, outlining the reasons for the delays and proposed solutions.
The institutions are also expected to prioritise the affected projects according to their importance and urgency, while providing detailed estimates of the funds required for their completion.
In addition, beneficiary institutions have been directed to establish stronger project supervision mechanisms, with active involvement of their Physical Planning and Maintenance Departments, to ensure projects are delivered on schedule, within approved budgets and in line with required quality standards.
The Board further directed that institutions with outstanding delayed projects must channel their Annual, Zonal and High Impact Intervention allocations towards completing such projects before seeking approval for new ones.
Consequently, institutions that fail to clear their backlog of delayed projects will not be considered for new projects under the 2027 intervention cycle.
The statement added that monitoring teams comprising members of the Board of Trustees and technical personnel of the Fund will undertake physical inspections of the affected projects.
The teams will also review completion proposals submitted by beneficiary institutions during visits scheduled for August and September 2026, ahead of the Board’s statutory meeting in October 2026, where projects for inclusion in the 2027 disbursement guidelines will be considered.
