The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance data and information sharing aimed at improving remittances to the Fund and promoting greater transparency in the extractive sector.
At the signing ceremony held in Abuja, TETFund Executive Secretary, Arc. Sonny Echono, said the partnership would deepen accountability, particularly within the oil, gas, and other extractive industries, while aligning with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“This will ensure accountability, particularly in the oil and gas and other extractive industry sector, ensure that taxes that are due to be remitted to the education tax fund are made and even those that fail to pay are recovered, to boost revenue, to ensure that we are able to fulfill the purpose of Mr. President, of restoring our institutions in the shortest possible time.
“And being able to having a framework that will enable us to get accurate, up-to-date data on what these should be, is something we have been working very hard on and it will culminate into a very firm agreement between the two agencies today,” Echono said.
The Executive Secretary explained that TETFund is not only focused on prudent expenditure but also on expanding and improving its revenue collection framework.
“But we also ensuring how do we generate, how do we expand the incidents, how do we improve the efficiency of collection of revenue,” he said.
He noted that the establishment of a dedicated Department of Revenue and Investment, approved by TETFund’s Board of Trustees, has significantly enhanced revenue performance.
“That has also been one of the reasons why you are seeing very significant improvements in revenue because all across our zonal offices, we have officers located there now who are working with the Federal Inland Revenue Service and their staff deployed in their zonal offices to basically go to every entity that is supposed to be paying tax for the companies registered and eligible to pay tax.
“Confirming if they are paying, verifying whether they are paying the right amount and so on. But there are some that are more difficult, more complicated, like these organisations that are offshore,” he said.
On the potential impact of ongoing tax reforms, Echono clarified that although some terminologies will change like education tax giving way for development levy, the core financial mechanisms would remain intact.
“But TETFund will be entitled to 50% of that development (education) levy. So the same procedure, the same parameter, this same MoU will provide a framework for us to track,” he added.
On his part, NEITI Executive Secretary, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, described the agreement as both “timely and significant,” emphasizing its role in ensuring that revenues from natural resources are transparently managed and effectively utilized.
“NEITI and TETFund are united by a common goal: to ensure that revenues earned from Nigeria’s natural resources are not only transparently managed but also efficiently deployed to promote development, reduce poverty, and advance our national aspirations,” he said.
Dr. Orji said substantial revenue accrued to TETFund over the past five years, amounting to approximately ₦1.024 trillion between 2019 and 2023 — most of it from the extractive sector, he however, clarified that money under accruals is not same as remittances.
He said: “Allow me to share some key figures from NEITI’s audited industry reports covering the last five years
“In 2022, total revenue accruals to TETFund stood at ₦322.99 billion.”In 2023, that figure rose significantly to ₦571.01 billion, the highest annual inflow to date.”From 2019 to 2021, NEITI audit data shows that total accruals to TETFund amounted to ₦644.19 billion, of which ₦624.32 billion was disbursed.
“This means that within the last five years alone (2019–2023), total revenue accruals to TETFund from Education Tax reached approximately ₦1.024 trillion, highlighting the centrality of the extractive sector in financing Nigeria’s tertiary education
“These funds are drawn from the profits of companies in oil, gas, mining, manufacturing, telecommunications, banking, and other sectors, many of which fall within NEITI’s audit purview,” he said.
While saying no country has achieved prosperity by merely exporting crude resources, Orji said by supporting tertiary education, research, and innovation, TETFund plays a pivotal role in converting finite mineral resources into infinite human capital.
He said under the MoU, NEITI will work with TETFund to ensure timely and prompt remittances through early deployment of evidence-based data.
“NEITI will also provide real-time information on revenue accruals due to TETFund to guarantee transparency and support the Fund in tracking remittances and utilisation.
“Our joint effort will uplift educational institutions, enhance access to scholarships, and strengthen the research ecosystem across our public tertiary institutions,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, praised the initiative as a strategic step toward sustainable development in the education sector.
“This is welcome development because it means more funding for education which is the bedrock of our development in a sustainable manner and you and I know that government is with so many demands from different sectors and if this source of income or revenue is identified and is followed, and the tracking is done properly and the money comes in as expected, the more development will come to the sector and you and I will be the beneficiaries and it will impact not only our present generation but the future ones.
” So it’s a welcome development, the ministry supports it, the ministry applauds this move and one thing is it has to do with transparency ,” he said.
