2 hours ago
1
The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Gusau, Muazu Abubakar, has refuted allegations that members of the House of Representatives Committee on University Education demanded ₦480 million to approve federal universities’ 2025 budgets.
Abubakar, in a letter dated January 27 and addressed to the committee’s chairman, Abubakar Fulata, stated that there was no truth to the claim that lawmakers pressured vice-chancellors to pay ₦8m each as a condition for approving their allocations.
He noted that the report specifically mentioned a “stubborn vice-chancellor” believed to be him and stated that while he initially intended to ignore the claims, he decided to respond to prevent any misleading narratives from being accepted as fact.
According to him, “The attention of the Federal University, Gusau, has been drawn to a trending online report titled Investigation: Nigerian Lawmakers Demand N480 million from Universities to Approve 2025 Budget.
“We categorically state that no member of the university team present at the budget defence was part of the information circulated in the media. We urge you, Mr. Chairman, and your esteemed committee members to disregard this malicious and sensational report, which aims to mislead the public and undermine constructive journalism.”
Abubakar commended the committee for its support, describing the budget defence session as “robust, friendly, and engaging.”
Similarly, Fulata had earlier dismissed the allegations at a press briefing, insisting that they were an attempt to discredit the committee’s efforts to enhance Nigeria’s education sector.
English (US) ·