The Federal Government has approved the disbursement of over ₦6 billion as intervention funds to 271 tertiary institutions across the country in the 2026 intervention cycle.
The funds, approved through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), will be disbursed to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education nationwide.
Naijaonpoint reports that the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sunny Echono, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while reading out the figures at the Fund’s annual disbursement meeting.
According to Echono, each category of institution will receive substantial funding to support infrastructure, research and academic development.
He said, “Each university will receive a total of ₦2,525,932,228.02, while polytechnics will receive ₦1,871,059,920.53 each. Colleges of education will get ₦2,056,527,973.04 each.”
He added that the 2026 intervention cycle is structured around direct disbursements and designated projects.
“A breakdown of the disbursement cycle shows that 90.75 per cent is allocated to total direct disbursement, made up of 50 per cent annual direct disbursement and 40.75 per cent special direct disbursement.
“Designated projects account for 9.07 per cent, while stabilisation funds stand at 0.18 per cent,” he said.
However, the TETFund boss expressed concern over persistent delays by some beneficiary institutions in processing projects for approval and implementation.
He lamented what he described as undue delays in obtaining approval in principle and completing due process requirements.
Echono advised heads of institutions to commence procurement planning early to avoid setbacks.
He also warned institutions over the slow adoption of the Tertiary Education Research Application Services platform.
“Also worrisome is the slow and reluctant utilisation of the TERAS platform with all its associated services by some beneficiary institutions. The Fund will be paying closer attention to this in the year 2026,” he cautioned.
He further stressed the need for a better understanding of TETFund guidelines, especially for training and conference interventions.
“The Fund also expects better documentation and knowledge of its guidelines for its training and content intervention lines. This should mitigate the challenges and problems experienced by scholars across beneficiary institutions,” he added.
Echono said the Fund would continue to prioritise interventions in security infrastructure, staff training, and the completion of long-abandoned projects.
He noted that disaster recovery and resilience measures across campuses would also receive sustained attention in 2026.
The TETFund executive secretary reiterated that research and innovation remain central to the Fund’s mandate.
According to him, ongoing support would be provided for the National Research Fund, institutional research and development partnerships, the Research-Meets-Industry initiative, and the commercialisation of research outputs.
He announced that laboratory infrastructure and agricultural development would receive a major boost in the coming year.
“We are enhancing the ongoing multipurpose laboratory projects, setting up two new ones, and creating new agricultural laboratories and demonstration farms,” Echono said.
On digital infrastructure, he added, “Our ICT roadmap will be further strengthened with expanded digital services, ICT Experience Centres, subscription-based internet access, and the continued advancement of the Tertiary Education Research Application Services, TERAS.”
Echono disclosed that TETFund had introduced a new intervention line for 2026 known as the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN).
He explained that the initiative is designed to improve access to global academic resources and integrate the TERAS platform into NgREN from 2026.
“We are also expanding the special intervention projects to cover the establishment of Centres for Robotics, Coding and AI Machine Learning, as well as Centres for Cybersecurity Studies in selected beneficiary institutions,” he said.
The TETFund boss announced that 12 additional institutions would benefit from the commercial farm project.
“These will include two universities, eight polytechnics, and two colleges of education,” he stated.
He added that the Fund would sustain the equipping and upgrading of research and development offices and continue student hostel development through Public-Private Partnerships.
Echono also commended the Federal Inland Revenue Service for its role in the collection of education tax.
“Let me extend our sincere gratitude to the Federal Inland Revenue Service and its leadership for the collection of Education Tax in 2025,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the new development levy under Nigeria’s revised tax regime would further strengthen TETFund’s capacity to deliver on its mandate.
As preparations begin for the 2026 intervention cycle, Echono urged beneficiary institutions to ensure full utilisation of their 2025 allocations.
“As we prepare to commence the 2026 intervention cycle, I urge all Heads of Beneficiary Institutions to ensure the full utilisation of their 2025 allocations,” he said, expressing confidence that 2026 would deliver “strengthened capacity, innovation, and measurable impact” across the tertiary education sector.