By TOM CHIAHEMEN, Abuja –
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), has disbursed its Annual Direct Disbursement funds for the 2026 intervention cycle to 271 beneficiary institutions across the country.
Under the disbursement, each beneficiary university received ₦2,525,932,228.02; each beneficiary polytechnic received ₦1,871,059,920.53; while each College of Education received ₦2,056,527,973.04.
The disbursement took place in Abuja on Tuesday, during TETFund’s Annual Strategic Engagement with beneficiary institutions, which was attended by Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education nationwide. The engagement was held under the Chairmanship of the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of TETFund, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari.
A statement by Dr Mansur D Liman, Special Adviser to the Chairman, BoT of TETFund, said the Annual Direct Disbursement represents 50% of the total Direct Disbursement allocation for the 2026 intervention cycle.
In his remarks, Rt. Hon Masari charged beneficiary institutions and implementing officers to ensure strict accountability, transparency and prudent utilization of the funds.
He recalled the successes of the zonal and national town hall meetings held across the country, noting that they significantly enhanced public awareness of TETFund’s mandate and interventions.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny S. T. Echono, explained that the strategic engagement focused on the 2026 disbursement guidelines and a feedback session on the implementation of the 2025 intervention programmes.
He expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the timely approval of the 2026 intervention guidelines, as well as the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, for the prompt transmission of the guidelines to Mr. President.
Reflecting on the 2025 intervention year, the Executive Secretary noted that the Fund recorded notable progress in stakeholder engagement, policy alignment, timely implementation of intervention programmes and sustained capacity-building across beneficiary institutions.
He explained that the Annual Direct Disbursement funds were targeted at strengthening critical physical infrastructure, enhancing academic programmes, boosting research and innovation, and driving overall transformation of Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
Union leaders representing academic staff of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education commended TETFund for the early distribution of the 2026 award letters, describing it as a positive development that would support effective planning and timely project execution.
