The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has revealed that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) received approximately ₦1.024 trillion in revenue from education tax over a five-year period.
Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, NEITI’s Executive Secretary, disclosed this during a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between NEITI and TETFund in Abuja on Monday. The announcement was confirmed in a statement by Chris Ochonu, NEITI’s Deputy Director of Communication and Stakeholder Management.
Drawing from NEITI’s industry reports on Nigeria’s extractive sector, Dr. Orji highlighted that the MoU aims to enhance information and data sharing. He explained that NEITI’s verified data would be instrumental in shaping TETFund’s strategic planning, revenue projections, and accountability framework.
“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.”
Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji further highlighted NEITI’s commitment to supporting TETFund with accurate, credible, and independently validated data on revenue accruals from the extractive sector. This collaboration aims to strengthen TETFund’s ability to monitor due payments, track remittances, and identify outstanding revenues, thereby fostering accountability and enabling efficient financial planning in the education sector.
Breaking down the revenue figures, Dr. Orji noted that NEITI’s industry audit reports revealed significant contributions to TETFund from education taxes within the extractive sector. In 2022, revenue accruals to TETFund amounted to ₦322.99 billion. The following year, 2023, saw a substantial increase, with inflows reaching ₦571.01 billion, marking the highest annual collection to date.
From 2019 to 2021, total accruals to TETFund stood at ₦644.19 billion, with ₦624.32 billion disbursed during the same period. These figures underscore the critical role of the extractive sector in financing Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
“Today’s MoU connects the source and the application of public revenues. NEITI tracks and verifies what is paid. TETFund ensures that what is received is invested for impact. Together, we are creating a value chain of accountability—from extraction to education,” the Executive Secretary maintained.
The Executive Secretary stressed that over ₦1.024 trillion accrued to TETFund in just five years must be fully accounted for, efficiently deployed, and transparently tracked.
He added that the fund must translate to modern libraries, functional laboratories, revitalised lecture halls, and cutting-edge research that meets the challenges of the 21st century.
“With this MoU, NEITI and TETFund commit to a future of joint accountability, open data exchange, and measurable impact. This is not just a partnership between two institutions—it is a covenant with the Nigerian people. A promise to ensure that Nigeria’s natural resource wealth truly works for every citizen, especially through education,” Dr Orji reinstated.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, in his welcome remarks, stated that the MoU signing ceremony is a landmark event in the series of engagements between TETFund and NEITI.
Echono explained that the MoU will enable TETFund and NEITI to explore various avenues for ensuring accountability in the areas of tax accruals on education tax, which are duly remitted.
He noted that this is to enable TETFund to recover such funds and boost revenue for education development, which promotes the agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“The MoU will also define a framework that will enable us get accurate, credible, and up-to-date data that will culminate into a very firm agreement between the two agencies. Other key components of the MoU include improvement of revenue and efficiency in its collection,” the Executive Secretary of TETFund reiterated.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Abel Enitan, described the MoU signing as a welcome development and a foundation for sustainable growth in the education sector.
Enitan emphasised the ministry’s support, highlighting the importance of transparency and NEITI’s vital role not just in signing but also in implementing the agreement.
He called for an urgent need to recover the unremitted taxes of extractive companies for education development, which will impact not only the present generation but also future generations.