The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed has revealed that the commission received N12 billion in its 2022 budget and is receiving much more in the 2023 appropriation, which the commission did not requested for.
The Executive Secretary made the revelation when he appeared before the Senate and House Joint Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFUND for budget defence.
According to him, the N12 billion was meant for World Bank projects which are not processed in that mode.
“We had additional money given to us that we didn’t request. I later went to finance to find out because our budget was always hovering around N3 billion with about N2 billion for personnel, N700-N800 million for capital and N700 million for overhead.
“But last year we saw additional N12 billion given for World Bank projects” adding that the World Bank projects are not processed through this mode,” Rasheed revealed.
He said his finding at Federal Ministry of Finance showed that as at today, over N6 billion has been released, “but we have not touched a Kobo and we are not going to touch a kobo of that money because we do not think it is part of what we are to spend”, adding “in 2023 we see even more coming to us and it unsettles us.
“When my capital is N700 million and I see N12 billion under capital, it unsettles me. I don’t know what it is for and it’s not something I can spend.
“I don’t know; I’m not complaining; we can house it but at the end of the year, it will disappear,” he said.
The Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita jokingly said “Prof, if I may suggest, bring it here we will appropriate it”.
With reporting by Newsdiaryonline
