The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Arc. Sonny Echono has refuted a report in the media indicting him for alleged corruption in contracts awards and procurements by the Fund.

The media report already viral, had alleged that there is “Disquiet in Nigeria Education

Agency, TETFund over Contracts Fraud, Procurement Racketing,

Others under New Head, Sonny Echono”. The report further alleged that, “the Executive Secretary of TETFund had turned the Fund into a fiefdom where contract splitting and padding was the order of the day”.

However, in a swift reaction to the report Echono having dismissed it, expressed total commitment to upholding and entrenching tenets of accountability and transparency in the Fund, adding that he has demonstrated in the period of being at the helm of affairs, through introduction of innovative policies and reforms aimed at improving efficiency.

In a press statement titled, CORRUPTION FIGHTS BACK AS ECHONO IMPLEMENTS SWEEPING REFORMS, the Acting Director, Public Affairs, Abdulmumin Oniyangi, the Executive Secretary, maintains that among other initiatives he is undertaking a holistic review of the operating

procedures of the Fund.

In the statement made available to News Express on Monday the management of TETFund expressed shock, saying its attention was drawn to a publication alleging unwholesome practices under the administration of the ES. It emphasised that since assumption of office, the ES has introduced worthy reforms, stressing that the allegation is therefore laughable.

The statement said in carrying out the reforms, the ES might have stepped on toes.

“The Executive Secretary is indeed stepping on some long toes and the expected response is to question his qualification for the job which none of his five (5) predecessors (3 academics and 2 technocrats) was better prepared for”, the statement said.

The statement continues: “It is worthy of note that part of the reforms introduced by Arc.

Echono include the need for curriculum review, skill acquisition/Entrepreneurship, advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as deepening Research,

Development and Innovation. Others are provision of funds for capacity building of lecturers to equip them with requisite skills for Entrepreneurial Studies and Research Studies in Digital

Technologies and prepare Nigerian students for global competitiveness with the end goal of building a knowledge economy and increasing the country’s global presence.

It recalls that in his first media outing he admonished perpetrators of corrupt acts within the Fund, saying, “I know petitions will soon start flying and my opponents will join forces” – These comments were made by Arc. Sonny Echono, the new Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) as he signed the final batch of letters disengaging 37 members of the 87 members National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee (NRFS & MC) for failing to diligently discharge their duties or whose roles were at best unclear”.

Furthermore, the statement said, “Earlier, he had frozen, cancelled or suspended programmes and

consultancies adjudged wasteful or economically disadvantageous to the Fund. Some of those affected are licking their wounds while a few who initially threatened legal actions have settled for

renegotiation after realizing their weak positions.

“The unwieldy 99-man Technical Advisory Group (TAG) has been

put on notice to right-size for prudence and greater operational

efficiency”.

The statement said in addition, “He has also initiated series of partnerships with notable institutions

globally and locally, such as University of Brazil, Vicosa on tuition

free agreements for training of more Nigerian professionals in

Agriculture, transnational cooperation with the Government of

Britain, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Nigerian

Economic Summit Group (NESG), African Union (AU), signing of

an MoU with the University of Sussex for the development of tertiary education in Nigeria, partnership with the European Union (EU) on Research, Development and Innovation at Brussels

among others; all aimed at articulating new strategies to reinforce existing efforts of the government at improving standard of education in Nigeria.

“Internally, he is undertaking a holistic review of the operating procedures of the Fund, operationalized the zonal offices with delegated functions and set targets for all departments and

standing Committees. For example, the Book Development Committee which last published books in 2014 has been directed to publish at least 40 standard, peer-reviewed academic textbooks

on diverse topics by 31 st December, 2022. The Monitoring & Evaluation Department must complete site visits and process recommendations for tranche releases within 2 weeks of receipt of

request from institutions. Starting with ICT interventions, beneficiary institutions shall henceforth make submissions electronically (Online) to minimize human contact. Staff of the Fund were also requested to make sacrifice by forgoing certain privileges in response to the sharp drop in tax collections in 2021, with a promise that they will be restored when the situation

improves. He is also committed to the completion of on-going projects rather than starting new ones, and has taken steps in that direction. He interacted and secured the buy-in of Management

and Staff of the Fund for the reforms, which have received widespread support of stakeholders.

“Perhaps more problematic are the Procurement and Project Management reforms introduced to eliminate corruption, reduce delivery time of projects, prevent cost escalation and improve

general efficiency in the discharge of the Fund’s mandate. Under the new dispensation, all projects to be executed by the Fund are to be planned, packaged and selected by the beneficiary

institutions for review and concurrence of the Fund. No more TETFund or vendor promoted projects, as the needs of the institutions shall prevail.

“Annual disbursement allocations were made directly to the

beneficiary institutions at a public ceremony held at the National

Universities Commission (NUC) on 9 th May 2022. The Vice-

Chancellors, Provosts and Rectors were directed to advertise and

procure their projects through open, competitive bidding to

achieve value for money. This was widely reported in the media

and commended by the Procurement Professionals Association of

Nigeria along with the threat to punish erring contractors who delay

project execution or deliver poor quality jobs. Hardly the stuff of a

wheeler and dealer.

“It is therefore laughable that these measures are being

described by some aggrieved vested interests as “unwholesome

practices”. Equally instructive is the fact that TETFund is not a

contract awarding agency on behalf of beneficiary institutions so

the reference to contract splitting and padding are totally baseless

and incomprehensible. The design and costing of projects are

done by the respective institutions. So also is the supervision and

management. TETFund only monitors milestones attainments

ahead of releases in tranches.

“To allege that someone who publicly distributed allocation

letters “is in the habit of asking for advance payment in dollars

before grants are given” is standing truth on its head. It is on

record that since resumption of duty, Arc Echono has not

personally issued any grant or letter to any beneficiary institution

but rather through technical departments responsible for each

intervention area. It is indeed cruel to insinuate that Vice

Chancellors will be happy to meet the monetary demands without

complaining; and the same Vice Chancellors will be instructed to

award the contracts to anointed contractors. When people are

consumed with evil and hate, logic departs. It is noteworthy that no

institution or Vice Chancellor was cited to buttress or corroborate

this callous claim. Is anybody hurting? Why?

“Equally curious is the allegation that Arc Echono has a list of

anointed firms that execute TETFund projects, yet the author failed

to mention even one of them for fear of rebuttal. It was even

asserted that his control of TETFund contracts preceded his

appointment judging from the singular example of a twin lecture

theatre in a University in Southern Nigeria. Sahara reporters

should find the courage to mention the institution so that serious

minded investigative journalists can unearth the truth and debunk

the fat lies. The suspicion is that since 2022 allocations were only

made recently in May and the projects are still being packaged and

prepared by the institutions, it will be difficult to sustain any

allegation under his recent tenure. Solution? Back date the

allegations.

“Brilliant though incomprehensible attempts were also made

to make a link as well as draw parallels with an alleged phantom

contract scam at NECO some years back. What Sahara reporters

did not say is that those allegations were thoroughly investigated

by five (5) different anti-corruption and regulatory agencies and not

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