The Board of Trustees of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has announced stricter measures to address persistent delays in the execution of intervention projects across beneficiary tertiary institutions.
The agency warned that institutions with abandoned or overdue projects will not be allowed to commence new ones under the 2027 intervention cycle.
Chairman of the board, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, who gave this hint, Tuesday, said the decision followed repeated cases of institutions failing to complete projects within approved timelines despite efforts by the fund to address the problem.
Masari recalled that TETFund introduced a special intervention line in 2023 to support the completion of stalled projects after many institutions blamed rising costs of construction materials, including cement, reinforcement bars and electrical and sanitary fittings, for the delays.
He said the initiative led to the completion of many abandoned projects, but recent assessments showed that delays continue in several institutions.
He attributed the situation largely to poor project continuity whenever new heads of institutions assume office and choose to embark on fresh projects instead of completing ongoing ones.
He also identified delays in processing payments to contractors as another major factor slowing project delivery.
The board noted that internal bureaucracy and institutional politics would no longer be accepted as excuses for poor implementation of TETFund-funded projects.
To address the problem permanently, the board directed all beneficiary institutions to submit a comprehensive list of projects that have remained uncompleted for more than six months beyond their scheduled completion dates.
The institutions are expected to explain the reasons for the delays and propose practical measures for completing the projects.