The House of Representatives Committee on University Education has decided to withhold funds from Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, and other universities whose vice chancellors failed to appear for the 2025 budget defence.
This decision was made known by the committee’s chairman, Hon. Abubakar Hassan Fulata, during a meeting on the budget defence of universities and inter-university centres.
Fulata emphasized the importance of the budget defence exercise, which allows lawmakers to understand the progress, opportunities, and challenges of each university.
He noted that the committee had conducted oversight visits to all federal universities under its supervision, except Federal University Gusau, which blocked the visit and failed to respond to correspondence regarding the 2024 budget performance.
The committee warned universities against non-compliance with federal character principles in recruitment and appointments.
It also advised university management to utilize internally generated revenue in line with constitutional provisions, warning that unapproved expenditure is a gross violation of the constitution.
Key challenges facing university education in Nigeria were identified by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Abdullahi Yusuf Ribadu, including: Inadequate funding; Envelope system of budgeting; Deficits in teacher quality and quantity; Unreliable power supply; Land encroachment.