Professor Muazu Abubakar, the vice-chancellor of the Federal Univerisity, Gusau, the House of Representatives didn’t demand N480m for the approval of the 2025 budgets of federal universities.
The Punch reported that Abubakar stated this in a letter dated January 27 and addressed to the house committee’s chairperson, Abubakar Fulata.
The vice-chancellor denied the media reports which said the lawmakers were demanding N8m each from the vice-chancellors before approvals can be given for their 2025 budget estimates.
According to him, he said 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.
“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.”
The VC thanked the lawmakers for their support, which he said had made the budget defence session “robust, friendly, and engaging.”
Fulata who had earlier addressed a press conference dismissed the allegations, saying it was an attempt to discredit the efforts of the committee in enhancing the country’s education sector.
“It is absurd for anyone to suggest that lawmakers demanded even a ‘kobo’ as a precondition for approving budget proposals,” Fulata said.
Also on Wednesday 29th January, spokesperson of the lower chamber, Akin Rotimi in a statement said the media report was a deliberate attempt to smear lawmakers’ reputations.
“The 10th House of Representatives is firmly committed to transparency, accountability, and the highest ethical standards in all its legislative activities. These values form the bedrock of our operations. It is, therefore, imperative to address the baseless and sensational allegations in the report, which appear to be part of a deliberate attempt to undermine the integrity of the House and erode public trust in this hallowed institution.”
He said the report “lacks any diligent investigative effort as they would want people to believe, and instead, amplifies fabricated narratives by individuals seeking to evade accountability.”
