…. Lawmakers Demand 2024–2026 Budget Records From UNILAG, OAU, FUTA, FUOYE, Others
…. Committee Queries Universities Over Unexplained Expenditure, Missing Balances, Conflicting Financial Statements
Daud Olatunji
The House of Representatives has launched an investigation into alleged financial irregularities in nine federal universities and other tertiary institutions, demanding explanations from their managements over questionable financial records, unexplained expenditure and discrepancies in the management of public funds.
As part of the probe, the House Committee on University Education has summoned the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, to appear before lawmakers next week over an alleged N7.1bn discrepancy in the institution’s financial records.
The committee also directed the university management to submit comprehensive details of its 2024, 2025 and 2026 budgets to enable lawmakers to scrutinise its financial operations and establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged discrepancies.
The Chairman of the committee, Abubakar Fulata, disclosed the development in a statement on Saturday following an oversight visit to universities and inter-university centres across the South-West geopolitical zone.
Fulata said the exercise exposed disturbing inconsistencies in financial submissions by some institutions, raising concerns over transparency, accountability and possible violations of approved budgetary provisions.
He expressed particular concern over conflicting figures presented by university managements, especially discrepancies between internally generated revenue and reported expenditure.
According to him, some institutions claimed to have spent more money than they generated internally without providing satisfactory explanations for the sources of the additional funds, while others failed to account for substantial balances reflected in their financial statements.
Illustrating the discrepancies uncovered during the exercise, the committee chairman questioned how some universities could report expenditure exceeding their declared revenue without explaining the source of the additional funds.
“In some cases, the documents submitted contradict each other. You claimed to have generated N9bn and spent N10bn—where did you get the N1bn from?
“In another instance, you will see N12bn generated as income and only N8bn spent, without any information regarding the whereabouts of the balance of N4bn,” Fulata said.
The lawmaker warned that such financial practices could undermine the integrity of the university system, insisting that institutions benefiting from public funds must be prepared to account for every naira received and spent.
He maintained that vice-chancellors and their management teams had a statutory responsibility to demonstrate transparency in the administration of both government allocations and internally generated revenue.
Fulata stressed that public resources must be deployed strictly for approved purposes, warning that the National Assembly would not overlook financial practices capable of compromising the effective management of tertiary institutions.
On the UNILAG investigation, the committee chairman said representatives of the institution who received the lawmakers during the oversight visit failed to provide satisfactory explanations for the alleged N7.1bn excess reflected in its 2024 and 2025 financial records.
He added that the university officials were also unable to furnish the committee with additional information requested during the engagement.
Consequently, the committee directed the institution to submit detailed financial records and appear before it next week to clarify the discrepancies.
The lawmakers also directed other institutions visited to update their financial records and submit comprehensive reports covering their 2024, 2025 and 2026 budget implementation.
Among the institutions affected are Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Federal University Oye-Ekiti; Federal University of Technology, Akure; and Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun.
Others covered by the oversight exercise include the University of Ibadan; Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo; Federal University of Agriculture and Development Studies, Iragbiji; Federal University of Technology and Environmental Studies, Iyin-Ekiti; and the Nigeria French Language Village, Badagry.
Beyond financial accountability, Fulata urged university authorities to uphold the federal character principle in staff recruitment and student admissions to guarantee fairness, inclusiveness and equitable representation across the country.
He maintained that recruitment and admission processes in public universities must reflect the principles of fairness and national integration rather than favouritism or sectional considerations.
The committee chairman also declared that political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections would not distract the National Assembly from its constitutional responsibility of monitoring public expenditure and ensuring accountability across government institutions.
According to him, the oversight exercise was deliberately designed to ensure that no sector of the economy, particularly education, suffers neglect or escapes legislative scrutiny because of the political activities associated with the forthcoming elections.
He reiterated that effective financial management was critical to improving the quality of tertiary education, stressing that universities must ensure that public resources were channelled towards their approved objectives.
The committee maintained that the investigation formed part of the National Assembly’s constitutional mandate to scrutinise government expenditure, monitor budget implementation and address financial and administrative shortcomings in public institutions.
It said university authorities must demonstrate greater commitment to financial discipline and accountability, particularly at a time when the country expects public institutions to utilise available resources efficiently to improve the standard of education.
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