By Efe Onodjae
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has recorded unprecedented milestones in the nation’s higher education sector under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, a university don, Prof. Dapo Thomas, has said.
Prof. Thomas, of the Department of History and International Studies, Lagos State University (LASU), stated this while presenting a paper titled “The Achievements of TETFund under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administration” at the 2025 TETFund Board of Trustees Southwest Town-Hall Meeting held in the University of Ibadan, Oyo State.
The event was coordinated by Honourable Sunday Adepoju, the Southwest representative on the TETFund Board of Trustees.
According to Thomas, TETFund’s performance in the last two years has demonstrated the Federal Government’s “transformative and interventionist” commitment to revamping tertiary education in the country through sustained funding, research support, and infrastructure renewal.
“It would be mischievous to de-market TETFund at a time it deserves to be honoured for its exceptional and outstanding performance,” he said, adding that the evidence of its impact “is sufficiently strewn in every corner of Nigeria.”
He noted that the Fund’s achievements have not gone unnoticed both locally and internationally. In February 2025, New Telegraph Newspaper named TETFund the “Most Improved Government Agency of the Year 2024”, citing its unwavering commitment to research, innovation and institutional support.
Similarly, ThisDay Newspaper honoured President Bola Tinubu as its Man of the Year 2024 for his efforts at repositioning Nigeria’s education sector in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda.
Thomas recalled that the Tinubu administration allocated ₦940.5 billion to TETFund in the 2025 budget — a move he described as “an unmistakable signal of the President’s resolve to elevate tertiary education to global standards.”
Highlighting some of the Fund’s recent interventions, the LASU scholar disclosed that TETFund has completed 687 capital projects across tertiary institutions nationwide in less than two years.
These include lecture theatres, hostels, senate buildings, medical facilities and other key infrastructure designed to improve learning and research environments.
TETFund’s Executive Secretary, Arc. Sonny Echono, was recently honoured with the 2024 Anthology Visionary Award in Orlando, United States, for leadership in transforming education through technology.
In his acceptance speech, Echono credited President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for guiding the Fund’s digital transformation initiatives, including efforts to ensure that all graduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions attain digital literacy before graduation.
“In today’s digital world, proficiency in digital literacy is not just beneficial; it is essential for academic success and employability,” Echono was quoted as saying.
The partnership between TETFund, Anthology, and Blackboard followed the unveiling of the Tertiary Education Research and Application System (TERAS) and Beneficiaries Identity Management System (BIMS) by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, in October 2023.
N100 Billion Medical Sciences Intervention
The Fund has also made significant strides in strengthening the health education sector. Following President Tinubu’s directive, TETFund released N100 billion to selected tertiary institutions to expand training in medical sciences.
Three universities from each geopolitical zone received N4 billion each to boost admissions and training capacity in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and laboratory sciences.
Thomas said the initiative has already yielded remarkable outcomes, citing the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, which successfully performed its first kidney transplant at the TETFund Centre of Excellence in Urology and Nephrology.
“This breakthrough reflects TETFund’s deepening investment in cutting-edge research and innovation,” he stated.
N4.25 Billion Research Grant
To further drive research and innovation, President Tinubu also approved N4.25 billion for 158 research proposals under the National Research Fund cycle managed by TETFund.
The fund supports applied research in national priority areas such as power, health, agriculture, security, and employment generation.
Conclusion
Prof. Thomas noted that TETFund has become a veritable “change agent” in reversing the decay and rot in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, leveraging the support and vision of President Tinubu.
“TETFund is fixing the decay in all ramifications through a government intolerant of stagnation and decadence,” he said.
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