The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) is in the middle of a major financial scandal after the All Progressives Congress (APC) State Working Committe confirmed recieving N325million from the Nigerian government agency to run the party’s day-to-day activities in Adamawa State.
It was gathered that the money from the education fund came to the APC state committee in payment of N25,000,000 monthly from October 2023 to October 2024 and is now a subject of controversy as some of the party leaders accused the others of embezzlement and management.
TETFUNF is a scheme established by the Nigerian government in 2011 to disburse, manage, and monitor education tax to government-owned tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
It is meant to be an “intervention agency set up to provide supplementary support to all levels of public tertiary institutions for the rehabilitation, restoration and consolidation of tertiary education in Nigeria.”
SaharaReporters on Thursday obtained a petition from the Adamawa State APC women leader, Mrs Patricia Yakubu, to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, whom she refered to as “our leader in Adamawa State APC” where she confirmed that TETFUND sent monies to the party in the state but it was embezzled by some party leaders.
In the petition copied to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, President Bola Tinubu’s wife, Oluremi, and others, Mrs Yakubu explained how the state APC leadership had mismanaged and squandered funds meant to run the party and how she and others had been relegated from the party.
Her petition is titled, “A CALL FOR URGENT INTERVENTION: MONUMENTAL FRAUD, MISAPPROPRIATION OF PARTY FUNDS TO THE TUNE OF N500.000,000, NAME DROPPING, INTIMIDATION AND VIOLATION OF THE PARTY CONSTITUTION.”
Addressed to Ribadu, she said, “I wish to respectfully write, and as our leader in Adamawa State APC, to humbly draw your attention to some incessant violations of party constitution, injustice, monumental fraud and lack of matured leadership strides, being committed by few members of the State Working Committee, which might require your urgent intervention, despite your tight schedules, Sir:
“Ancillary Matters. Your Excellency, I now wish to draw your attention and seek for your intervention as our leader on. some very serious financial matters.
Corruption and Criminal misappropriation of Party funds:
a. Payment of =N=25, 000, 000.00 (Twenty-Five Million Naira) Monthly from TETFund started October, 2023 till October, 2024 totalling: Three Hundred and Twenty-Five Million naira (N325,000,000.00).
“The money is meant for running day to day party activities in and outude the state. The party account has been completely abandoned; the financial secretary has been removed as a signatory against the party constitution. Treasurer has been totally sidelined in all financial dealings. All Financial transactions are done through an individual account faccount details for investigation available).
“There was this time they collected three months at once totaling Seventy-Five Million naira (N75,000,000.00). Sometimes, these monies are paid through BDCs. All issues about these are kept secret by the Chairman, Secretary and Organizing Secretary, while some party executives and faithfuls are languishing in abject poverty, cannot afford to pay school fees, their children are home, some have died because they cannot afford hospital bills.
“b. Contracts from TETFund at FCE Yola and GMMC Yola for the benefit of the party was kept secret. They sold contracts and concealed the proceed. c. That sometime in December, 2023 the former minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, SAN, equally gave the Party Executives N15milliion Naira for Christmas but only Fifty Thousand naira (=N=50,000.00) was given to each Exco (which is less than million naira) therefore Forty Eight Million naira (N48,000,000,00) deficit unaccounted for.”
The state women leader continued in he revelation, adding that there is a plot to remove her from office and cover up all the atrocities and financial mismanagement.
