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TETFund redirects overseas scholarship funds to local infrastructure due to forex crisis and scholar flight
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Over N7.3 billion worth of projects commissioned at Akwa Ibom State University
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Chairman Masari confirms over N14.4 billion disbursed to AKSU since 2010
In a decisive shift aimed at tackling the foundational problems plaguing Nigeria’s tertiary education system, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has suspended its foreign training programme to prioritise critical home-grown university projects.
Chairman of the Fund, Hon Aminu Masari, made the announcement on Tuesday while commissioning five landmark projects at the Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) campuses in Ikot Akpaden and Obio Akpa.
Masari said the shift was necessitated by surging foreign exchange rates, the spiralling cost of training abroad, and the increasing number of scholars who fail to return home after government-sponsored education.
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He noted that the Fund is now channelling those resources into “impactful and urgent local infrastructure interventions” expected to transform learning and research conditions across Nigerian campuses.
The five newly commissioned projects at AKSU are valued at N7,306,029,318.52 and include state-of-the-art laboratories, faculty complexes, and learning centres—all funded under TETFund’s various intervention schemes.
Masari commended AKSU for prudent management of previous grants, revealing that the institution has benefitted from over N14.4 billion from TETFund since 2010. Of this, N2.67 billion remains unaccessed as ongoing projects near completion.
“From 2010 to 2025, Akwa Ibom State University has received N14,476,013,835.31. This shows a consistent investment in academic infrastructure,” he stated.
The former Pro-Chancellor of the university, Senator Udoma Udoma, praised TETFund’s intervention and called for a collective responsibility among staff and students to maintain the facilities.
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“Let us protect these facilities as a legacy for future generations,” he urged.
Vice Chancellor of AKSU, Prof Nse Essien, while expressing gratitude for the intervention, appealed for additional support to furnish key buildings and deliver essential infrastructure like digital libraries and student hostels.
He noted that while the structural components of new faculties—such as the Biological Sciences and Agriculture buildings—are completed, they remain unfurnished and underutilised.
