House Committee Chair Calls N480 Million Allegation “Ridiculous”
Rep. Abubakar Fulata, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on University Education, has strongly rejected media reports that claimed lawmakers were demanding N480 million as a condition for approving the 2025 budgets of universities. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, Fulata described the allegation as baseless and designed to undermine the committee’s efforts to enhance the quality of education in Nigeria.
He expressed disappointment at the spread of such rumors, stating that the aim of his response was to prevent any misleading information from reaching the public regarding the committee’s work and the activities of the 10th House of Representatives. Fulata went on to call the suggestion that lawmakers were seeking financial compensation for budget approval “ridiculous.”
The lawmaker also outlined the committee’s ongoing plans to improve university education, emphasizing the need for university managements to be more transparent and responsive to oversight. He revealed that in 2024, the committee had conducted oversight visits to all federal universities under its supervision, except for the Federal University, Gusau, in Zamfara State. According to Fulata, the university’s administration had blocked the committee’s access to the school and failed to provide necessary documents on budget performance for the 2022 and 2024 fiscal years, as well as the 2025 budget proposal.
Fulata further stated that if President Bola Tinubu could take the time to present the Federal Government’s budget to the National Assembly, there was no reason why any vice-chancellor should refuse to defend their university’s budget proposal. He criticized some university leaders for resorting to tactics like blackmail and smear campaigns against the committee.
He said the committee had brought the matter to the leadership of the House of Representatives and urged that the budgets of any institutions whose vice-chancellors refused to defend their proposals should not be approved.
In closing, Fulata called on media practitioners to verify the information they receive before publishing, urging them to be more diligent in their reporting. He reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to ensuring continuous academic activities in Nigerian universities and improving the standard of education nationwide.
