The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Gusau, Prof. Muazu Abubakar, has strongly refuted allegations that members of the House of Representatives Committee on University Education demanded N480 million to approve federal universities’ 2025 budgets.
In a letter dated January 27 and addressed to the committee’s chairman, Abubakar Fulata, the VC dismissed media reports claiming that lawmakers pressured vice-chancellors to pay N8 million each as a prerequisite for securing their allocations.
He clarified that while the report specifically referred to a “stubborn vice-chancellor” believed to be him, he initially chose to ignore the claims but later decided to respond to prevent misinformation from gaining traction.
“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,” Abubakar stated.
“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 Vice-Chancellor praised the committee for its cooperation, describing the budget defence session as “robust, friendly, and engaging.”
House of Representatives Committee Chairman Dismisses Allegations
Similarly, Fulata had earlier debunked the allegations during a press briefing, asserting that they were merely an attempt to tarnish the committee’s efforts in advancing Nigeria’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. He emphasized that the report was misleading and aimed at discrediting the committee and the 10th House of Representatives.
In a statement last Wednesday, the spokesman for the House, Akin Rotimi, condemned the media report, calling it a deliberate smear campaign against lawmakers.
Rotimi stated, “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 further criticized the report, stating it “lacks any diligent investigative effort as they would want people to believe, and instead, amplifies fabricated narratives by individuals seeking to evade accountability.”
