Daily Independent Online.
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Friday, June 11, 2004.
FG releases N6bn to varsities
By Tom Chiahemen
Senior
Correspondent, Abuja
Federal universities
are in a season of fresh anointing as the government released about N6.15 billion to them on Thursday out of the
N12.38 billion voted for capital projects this year.
And in a separate
development, 24 federal universities and five other inter-university centres
got N554, 768,818.21 to off-set the arrears of their direct teaching and
laboratory costs for this year.
This tranch was
released by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and will also cover the
arrears of overheads of the 29 federal tertiary institutions.
Education Minister
Fabian Osuji disclosed news of the N6.15 released for capital expenditure in
Abuja, explaining that the action further testifies to the government’s
determination to arrest infrastructural decay in tertiary schools and ensure
quality education.
He also spelt out new
guidelines for the approval of contracts by vice-chancellors (VCs) and
governing councils under the due process entrenched by the government.
Osuji spoke when he
inaugurated the Centralised Resident Due Process Teams (DPT) of Federal
Universities at the National Universities Commission (NUC) headquarters.
Under the new
regulations, a VC is allowed to procure goods and services up to a limit of
N700,000 through selective tendering, contracts worth above N700,000 and up to
N20 million must be approved DPT.
Above N20 million and
up to N50 million, the responsibility for issuing Due Process Certificate (DPC)
rests with the Ministerial Tenders Board of the Ministry of Education.
For projects above N50
million, the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit shall issue the DPC
and such contracts shall be referred to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for
award through the Ministry of Education.
A similar exercise has
already been implemented for federal polytechnics and colleges of education.
The goal is to ensure that the ministry achieves 100 per cent utilisation of
appropriated funds within the present framework of due process.
Osuji expressed regret
that university councils before now awarded contracts almost without
limitations. “This situation led many councils to commit the government
by awarding contracts that involved substantial sums beyond budgetary provisions.
Consequently, many of the projects were uncompleted and later abandoned”,
he said.
A breakdown of the
money released by NUC for university overheads shows that N364, 506,100 is for
direct teaching and laboratory costs (DTLC) for January to March, the balance
N190, 262,718.21 covers running cost arrears.
University of Lagos
(UNILAG) got the highest amount (N37,148,999.97), followed by the University of
Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) (N36,810,602.52) and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria
(N35,540,037.44).
The 24 federal
universities, including those of agriculture and technology, received a total
N548,150,176.64. The balance N6,618,641.57 went to the five inter-university
centres, which include the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) Abuja, Nigerian
French Language Village, Badagry and the DAC, Zaria.
