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High Exchange Rate: TETFUND Suspends Foreign Scholarship For 2 Years

Published

2 years ago

July 18, 2023

Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Mr Sonny Echono, Tuesday, dropped a hint of the planned suspension of foreign scholarships for two years due to the high exchange rate.

He said that consultations were ongoing on the issue.

He also said that the Fund was owed the sum of N323 by the federal government having borrowed over N371.3 billion out of which it has paid N48 billion.

Echono spoke at a public hearing organized by an ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives on the alleged missing N2.3 trillion in TETFUND.

It will be recalled that the House had last Tuesday set up the Committee, headed by Hon. Oluwole Oke, to investigate the alleged abuse of N2.3 trillion generated from the Tertiary Education Tax by the Fund from 2011 to 2023.

He said that it was difficult accessing foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) even though the proceeds of their tax accruals generated on their behalf by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is domiciled in the apex.

According to the Fund, the CBN always insisted they sourced their own forex to pay fees for scholars abroad.

Echono therefore urged the panel to intervene on their behalf.

He informed that the Fund will resort to local institutions for scholarships trainings.

He said: “We operate a system where our forex is being sold on our behalf at an official rate and we apply like anybody else to get it, sometimes it leads to additional cost.

“Currently, as I speak, we are in consultations with all our stakeholders to suspend foreign training for a year or two. This is because of the recent exchange rate adjustments, we are unable to continue based on our disbursement guideline. The money we allocated in naira cannot cover the dollar requirement for training.Those who are currently there, we now need more naira to pay for the dollar that is required for their annual fees. We are trying to put a hold.

“Most of our training now will be done locally through our experienced, first-generation universities and other specialized universities based here. This way we can retain our resources in house and cope with the change of foreign exchange variation.

“Some of the scholars that have been sponsored, unpatriotically when they go, they enjoy our scholarship, acquire a higher degree, they refuse to come back, it has become a major crisis.

“We are working with the staff unions for stringent and effective measures to be taken; currently before you are sponsored, you are made to sign a bond.

“The scholarship requires that you will come back. It is required that you have a guarantor and in many cases the guarantor has suffered undue hardship because when you disappear, we hold the guarantor to pay all the money expended on your behalf but that has not been effective.

“We believe that a system where we work with our embassies and the institutions, we can enforce the repayment for those who insist they will not come back.

“If they don’t, we will declare them ‘persona non grata’. We will write to the embassies and they will make it available to those countries and they will not be able to get jobs. They will be seen as fugitives of law from their countries.

“We may have to take that hard stand because the numbers are alarming. We just checked about 40 institutions and over 137 absconders and the review is ongoing.

“It is a huge number that we cannot afford and so we will be seeking your support to strengthen some of the existing regulations to ensure that those who benefit from this programme must come back.

“We are not against people looking for greener pastures but do so on your own, not through our scholarship or through our sponsorship”.

Speaking on alleged missing of N2.3 trillion in TETFUND, Echono said the allegations were unfounded.

According to him, the actual sum generated from education tax from 2011 to 2022 was N2.476 trillion out of which the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) retained N99 billion as cost of collection.

He said that the government had since 2013 borrowed N371.3 billion from the Fund out of which it has paid N48 billion so far.

“We do have challenges but these challenges and they have nothing to do with fraud. They are basically issues of governance and I would start by explaining what the challenges are. First in absolute terms so we have a clear picture of what we are talking about. From the year 2011 to 2022 total education tax collected by the FIRS as presented to us in their documentations, as confirmed from the statements we received from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which we have also attached for the Committee to peruse is N 2, 476, 733, 181, 679.75.

“Out of this amount, a total sum of N99 billion were retained by FIRS as cost of collection, leaving a balance of N2.37 trillion. So, the total fund that had hit education pool account at the CBN is N2.3 trillion from 2011 to date

“However, the FG over time in the course of governance and to meet pressing needs has borrowed funds from these accounts. The total borrowing is approximately N371.339 billion. These borrowings happened over time and most of the borrowings started in 2013.

“The FG acknowledges that it was borrowing and we have full documentation of this and all the correspondences that accompanied it. Other borrowings since then are being tabulated and given to you. We did secure presidential approval for the refund of this borrowing since 2015 and the FG has been refunding albeit in piecemeal.

“To date, total borrowing is over N371 billion. But total repayment to this date is about N48 billion. Last year N12.8 billion was given to us, this year another N12.89 billion was given to us. They are just paying. God knows how long this will take to defray the principal amount”, Echono said.
VANGUARD

News

How I and Obey’s Son Escaped Getting Caught In Benin’s Coup —Dele Momodu

Published

13 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

The 2011 presidential flagbearer of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Chief Dele Momodu has revealed how he and his entourage missed getting caught in Benin Republic’s coup on Sunday.

A group of military personnel in Benin on Sunday announced that they had ousted President Patrice Talon, who is due to step down next April after 10 years in power.

Soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), said on state television that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”.

Reacting to the news via a post on his official X account, Momodu said he and his entourage would have been caught in Benin Republic’s coup if not for a missing document.

“OUR GOD DID THIS FOR US… My friend ROTIMI OBEY, the second son of legendary musician, CHIEF COMMANDER EBENEZER OBEY and I were to head out to Accra, Ghana, by road, this morning. All was set and ROTIMI went to bed early so that we can set out at 5am. But something went wrong,” he said.

“Before going to bed, I asked my driver for the originals of my car documents. He said he had only the copies with him. I searched the Home Office in Victoria Island but I couldn’t find it. I then went to the Penthouse in Ikoyi to check my other office. Still no luck. So , I called ROTIMI at 10:38 PM to give him the decision to fly instead of driving. He agreed.

“Meanwhile, my Beninese friend and mentee, ALEX DALMEIDA, was already in town waiting to accompany us through the French-speaking borders. So I called him at 23:02 last night to abort our road trip.

“I called PRECIOUS, my travel consultant, to check available flights. She got us tickets at 11:15PM. It was at the airport we received the news of the coup in Benin Republic… We barely missed it by the whiskers…”

Soldiers led by Lieutenant Pascal Tigri announced that they have taken over the country. They also suspended all political parties and announced the closure of land, sea and air borders.

Speaking further, Momodu expressed surprise at the coup attempt, saying: “Benin is one of West Africa’s most peaceful countries.

“The Benin’s President changed the constitution just last month to allow him extend his presidential term, this morning the military has overthrown him.”

Talon’s entourage has, however said that the Benin Republic President is safe and the army was regaining control.

Talon, a 67-year-old former businessman dubbed the “cotton king of Cotonou”, is due to hand over power in April next year after 10 years in office marked by solid economic growth but also a surge in jihadist violence.

West Africa has experienced a number of coups in recent years, including in Benin’s northern neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as Mali, Guinea and, most recently, Guinea-Bissau.

News

OAU Unveils Seven-foot Bronze Statue Of Chief Obafemi Awolowo

Published

20 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

…Yemisi Shyllon, other dignitaries praise Awo’s commitment to humanity

A giant bronze statue of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was unveiled on Friday at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife.

The statue, the worth of which was put at N120 million by the donor, has the sage dressed in his Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) attire. It is of a height of seven feet, which goes to 15 feet after the inclusion of the pedestal.

Speaking at the unveiling, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Adebayo Bamire, stated that the statue is a legacy project for the university.

Professor Bamire said the statue was a celebration of Chief Awolowo’s selfless service to humanity and expressed the appreciation of the university to the donor, Prince Yemisi Shyllon.

Prof Bamire noted that the life of Chief Awolowo should serve as a lesson for all to live for the good of the people.

“It is known that the soul of any civilisation, the very pulse of its humanity, beats strongest on its art, on its music, its literature, its visual splendour and its performances. This affirmation resonates with the Obafemi Awolowo University academic philosophy: ‘for learning and culture’—a culture of creativity and a creative culture.

“The donor of the statue, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, is a man whose name resonates across continents. He is Africa’s foremost art collector, an accomplished creative mind, a committed philanthropist of extraordinary vision and a relentless advocate for cultural advancement and one of the most remarkable cultural ambassadors of our time.

“For a university like ours, dedicated to the holistic development of mind and spirit, this example is a beacon. It reinforces our own commitment to ensuring that the sciences converge with the humanities, that innovation dances with tradition and that our graduates are as culturally literate as they are professionally skilled.

“This iconic piece will not only beautify our campus but also serve as a permanent cultural marker, reminding future generations of the ideals of leadership, service, excellence and intellectual courage upon which this university was founded,” the Vice Chancellor said.

Speaking, the donor of the statue, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, stated that the project was aimed at celebrating Papa Awolowo for living a purpose-driven life.

Prince Shyllon said conceiving the project and funding it was his own way of saying thank you to Chief Awolowo for the sterling leadership he gave his people and for showing what meaningful life meant.

“Indeed, many people solely focus on material wealth, such as having cars, building and buying properties, buying private jets, jewelries and the many other worthless and selfish illusions of life, that are generally not meaningful to the real essence of human life,” he said.

He added that Chief Awolowo would be remembered forever for living for what was right and just even as he listed some of the enduring legacies of the sage.

Prince Shyllon pointed at “free education in the old Western Region, and other landmark projects such as the Cocoa House, Western Nigeria Television, Liberty Stadium, industrial estates, farm settlements and the Obafemi Awolowo University, among others” as worthy legacies left behind by Chief Awolowo.

Shyllon noted that the sage was a man who could be best described as an example of a person who lived a “meaningful life.”

He added that Chief Awolowo lived his life planting seeds for generations while leaving his indelible footprints on the sands of time.

He charged all to live the kind of life that would make humanity remember them for something positive, “just as Papa Obafemi Awolowo, who died 38 years ago.”

He stressed that the Holy Qur’an and the Bible preach the act of showing love to the needy, adding that all should not give to the needy for the purpose of getting anything in return.

“Life is full of emptiness. Awolowo lived a meaningful, purpose-driven life and planted seeds through his various selfless services to humanity before his exit. That is why he is celebrated every day since he died 38 years ago,” he said.

In his remarks, Chairman, African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles, and daughter of Chief Awolowo, Dr Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, thanked Prince Shyllon for donating the statue.

She also appreciated the university for being receptive to the idea and for keeping the legacy of Chief Awolowo alive.

Ambassador Awolowo Dosumu, who was represented by the Editor, Saturday Tribune, Dr Lasisi Olagunju, noted that the project was a celebration of selfless service to the people which was what Chief Awolowo lived for.

“History is always there to reward selfless leadership and expose pretenders. We are here today in celebration of an uncommon man who died 38 years ago. This honour, this statue is a demonstration of what immortality means.

“Chief Awolowo gave his very best in the service of the people. We appreciate the donor, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, for the gesture and also appreciate the university for giving the right space for the erection of the statue. Good life is about services; what we are celebrating today is history’s reward for Chief Awolowo’s selflessness.

“Papa was one leader who believed that service to the people is a rent paid for the space we occupy in this world. The Awolowo family appreciates this monument and thanks the donor and the sculptor for doing a great job,” he said.

He urged students of the institution to learn from the life lived by Chief Awolowo and rededicate themselves to noble causes.

At the ceremony were principal officers of the university and other dignitaries, including Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who also said positive things about Chief Awolowo and the leadership he gave the Nigerian people.
(TRIBUNE)

News

FULL LIST: FG Selects 20 Content Creators For Tax Reform Education

Published

20 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

The Federal Government has released a list of 20 content creators selected to support public education on Nigeria’s ongoing tax reforms.

The Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee issued the announcement, which was posted on Thursday by its chairman, Taiwo Oyedele, on X.

The list, titled “Top 20 Content Creators for Tax Reform Education,” was shared after the organisers received 8,591 nominations covering more than 200 creators.

The organisers said the selected creators will attend a special training session designed to deepen their understanding of the new tax laws so they can share clearer and more balanced information with their audiences.

They encouraged Nigerians to tag any creator on the list and ask them to confirm their interest by completing the acceptance form.

“If your favourite creator is on the list, tag or mention them and ask them to confirm their interest by completing this form: forms.gle/Ph49kSE4okDf6g….

“Deadline for acceptance is Monday, 8 December 2025.

“Tell us the areas of interest and key issues you’d like the training to focus on in the comments section.”

According to the announcement, the creators were ranked by their followership across major platforms. The top 20 include:

1. Financial Jennifer

2. Onlinebanker

3. Don Aza

4. Mary Efombruh

5. Baba Ogbon Awon Agba International

6. Perpetual Badejo

7. Personalfinancegirl

8. Tomi Akinwale

9. Emeka Ayogu