TETFund Warns Public Tertiary Institutions Over Delayed Projects, Suspends 2027 Funding

TETFund has announced that public tertiary institutions with abandoned or delayed TETFund-sponsored projects will be ineligible for fresh intervention funds in the 2027 allocation cycle unless outstanding projects are completed.

The directive was issued by the Chairman of the TETFund Board of Trustees, Aminu Bello Masari, who described the persistent delay in project execution across beneficiary institutions as unacceptable.

According to a statement by TETFund’s Head of Public Relations, Abdulmumin Oniyangi, the Board has taken a decisive position after observing that several institutions continue to miss project completion deadlines despite previous interventions.

“The Board of Trustees has taken a final stand on the issue of delay in completion of approved projects in all its beneficiary institutions. Affected institutions will not receive approval to commence new projects in the 2027 intervention cycle,” Masari said.

He explained that institutions with delayed projects have been directed to prioritise their completion using funds from their Annual, Zonal and High Impact Intervention allocations, warning that no fresh projects would be approved for defaulting institutions until existing ones are concluded.

Masari recalled that TETFund introduced a dedicated intervention line in 2023 to help institutions complete projects stalled by the rising cost of construction materials, including cement, reinforcement bars, electrical fittings and sanitary materials.

He noted that the initiative had recorded significant success, with many previously abandoned projects completed following the additional funding support.

However, he lamented that new cases of delayed and abandoned projects continue to emerge, attributing the problem largely to leadership changes within institutions and administrative bottlenecks rather than inadequate funding.

“The continued occurrence of non-adherence to stipulated timelines in completing TETFund-sponsored projects is unacceptable. Lack of continuity in project implementation by heads of beneficiary institutions who prefer to initiate new projects, as well as delays in processing payments to contractors, are largely responsible for this avoidable situation,” he said.

To strengthen accountability, Masari said all beneficiary institutions have been directed to compile a comprehensive inventory of projects delayed by more than six months, identify the causes of the delays, propose practical solutions, prioritise affected projects, provide updated completion cost estimates and strengthen supervision through their Physical Planning and Maintenance Departments.

He disclosed that TETFund monitoring teams comprising Board members and technical officials will embark on nationwide inspections of affected projects between August and September 2026.

Findings from the inspections, alongside institutional submissions, will be reviewed during the Board’s statutory meeting in October 2026, where projects eligible for inclusion in the 2027 intervention guidelines will be considered.

Established under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act, TETFund finances infrastructure development, research, academic staff training, library development and other capital projects in public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education through proceeds from the country’s education tax.

The latest policy forms part of the Fund’s renewed efforts to ensure intervention funds translate into completed, functional infrastructure while eliminating the growing incidence of abandoned and distressed projects across Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions.