₦480 Million Scandal: Senators Allegedly Accept $1,000 ‘Gift’ for University Budgets

It has been stated that several senators from the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) disclosed the distribution of funds collected from colleges and universities in order to approve their 2025 budgets.
The National Assembly has denied extorting colleges, but other members told Premium Times that they received $1,000 in “appreciation money” and didn’t know where it came from until the newspaper revealed the scandal.
This article previously detailed how the House Committee on University Education and the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND sought ₦8 million from every federal university in the nation. According to the probe, politicians threatened to “deal” with opposing vice-chancellors after collecting ₦480 million from university leaders.
“The Senate gave $1,000 as “appreciation money” to some senators who were on the committee. According to one anonymous source, the majority of committee members were not aware of the plan and were unaware of its origin until they got the funds in envelopes.

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“Members lack sufficient knowledge regarding the situation. “Appreciation money” is the term used to describe the meager sums that agencies provide them in envelopes,” the insider continued.

Another legislator echoed that statement, saying that although many lawmakers consider these payments to be routine, some reject them. There are two senators from Sokoto and Lagos who do not participate in the money-sharing, according to the source.

The magazine in question further asserted that 66 polytechnics and colleges of education have contributed ₦528 million to the National Assembly’s committees in order to approve their budgets.