TETFund keeps mum amid allegations of corruption

Amid allegations of abuse of office and corruption against its Executive Secretary, Dr. Abdullahi Baffa, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has kept sealed lips over the disturbing development.

Contacted, the Director of Corporate Affairs and Public Relations, Ben Ebikwo, declined comments despite confirming knowledge of the report in papers and online platforms.

A civil society organisation, Centre for Public Accountability (CPA), had last week, petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged graft in the agency.

It thus accused Baffa of abusing his office and improperly awarding contracts.

The CSO also alleged that the TETfund boss issued instruction to publicly owned universities to reserve 20 per cent of their intervention contracts for ‘stakeholders.’

In the petition submitted at the Lagos office of the anti-graft agency on August 27, CPA’s Executive Director, Comrade Olufemi Lawson, while urging thorough investigation, noted: “We strongly believe that these ‘stakeholders’ are no other than Dr. Abdullahi Baffa himself, his cronies and immediate family, many of who he has used as fronts in executing the numerous illegal contracts being awarded to several higher institutions in clear violation of laid down procedures.”