The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has revealed that the total revenue accrual to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) from education taxes from the extractive sector, reached approximately ₦1.024 trillion in five years.
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji who made the revelation at the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between NEITI and TETFund on Monday in Abuja, noted that the amount of revenue accrued according to it’s industry reports of the Nigeria extractive sector, highlights the centrality of the extractive sector in financing Nigeria’s tertiary education.
A breakdown of the revenues from the NEITI’s industry audit reports shows that: In 2022, the total revenue accruals to TETFund from education taxes from the extractive sector stood at ₦322.99 billion; In 2023, that figure rose significantly to ₦571.01 billion, the highest annual inflow to date, while between 2019 to 2021, NEITI audit data shows that total accruals to TETFund amounted to ₦644.19 billion, of which ₦624.32 billion was disbursed.
According to the NEITI boss, the MoU being signed between both agencies was on information and data sharing to ensure that NEITI’s verified data would feed into TETFund’s strategic planning, revenue forecasting, and accountability framework.
“Under the MoU, NEITI will work with TETFund to ensure timely and prompt remittances through early deployment of evidence-based data. NEITI will also provide real-time information on revenue accruals due to TETFund to guarantee transparency and support the Fund in tracking remittances and utilisation. Our joint effort will uplift educational institutions, enhance access to scholarships, and strengthen the research ecosystem across our public tertiary institutions.”
Orji further emphasized that NEITI’s role would be to continuously support TETFund with timely, credible, and independently validated data on revenue accruals from the extractive sector.
“This support will enhance TETFund’s capacity to track what is due, what has been paid, and what is yet to be remitted, thereby promoting accountability and enabling proactive financial planning in the education sector.
“Today’s MoU connects the source and the application of public revenues. NEITI tracks and verifies what is paid. TETFund ensures that what is received is invested for impact. Together, we are creating a value chain of accountability—from extraction to education,” the Executive Secretary maintained.
The Executive Secretary stressed that over ₦1.024 trillion that has accrued to TETFund in just five years must be fully accounted for, efficiently deployed, and transparently tracked. It must translate to modern libraries, functional laboratories, revitalized lecture halls, and cutting-edge research that meets the challenges of the 21st century.
“With this MoU, NEITI and TETFund commit to a future of joint accountability, open data exchange, and measurable impact. This is not just a partnership between two institutions—it is a covenant with the Nigerian people. A promise to ensure that Nigeria’s natural resource wealth truly works for every citizen—especially through education.”
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono who said the MoU signing ceremony was a landmark event from the series of engagements between TETFund and NEITI, added that the MoU would enable TETFund and NEITI explore various avenues of ensuring accountability in the areas of tax accruals on education tax are duly remitted.
According to Echono, it would enable TETFund recover such funds to boost revenue for education development that promotes the agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The MoU will also define a framework that will enable us to get accurate, credible, and up-to-date data that will culminate into a very firm agreement between the two agencies. Other key components of the MoU include improvement of revenue and efficiency in its collection.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Abel Enitan, described the MoU signing as a welcome development and a foundation for sustainable growth in the education sector.
Enitan emphasised the Ministry’s support, highlighting the importance of transparency and NEITI’s vital role not just in signing, but also in implementing the agreement. He called for urgent need to recover extractive companies’ unremitted taxes for education development that will impact not only the present generation but also the future generations.
