The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has disclosed that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) approved about N2.53 billion for each public university under its 2026 intervention programme.
The fund also allocated N1.87 billion to each polytechnic and N2.06 billion to each College of Education, the minister said.
Idris disclosed this on Thursday at the 2026 TETFund North Central Zonal Town Hall Meeting held at the Government House, Lokoja, Kogi State.
The minister said the intervention was part of the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening tertiary education and developing the human capital required to drive Nigeria’s economic transformation.
He said the allocations should not be viewed merely as budgetary figures, but as investments capable of providing better laboratories, lecture halls, libraries, research facilities and improved learning environments for students.
According to him, tertiary education plays a critical role in producing the teachers, doctors, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, researchers and other skilled professionals needed to build the country.
Idris urged tertiary institutions in the North Central to align their academic programmes, research and innovation with the economic opportunities available in the region.
He identified agriculture, agro-processing, mining, energy, manufacturing, tourism and services as areas where the region has significant potential, stressing that universities, polytechnics and colleges of education must produce the skills and research required to unlock these opportunities.
The minister noted that the North Central region possesses vast agricultural resources, mineral wealth, energy potential and a strategic location capable of supporting economic development.
He particularly highlighted Niger State’s position as Nigeria’s largest state by land area, Benue’s agricultural importance and Kogi’s location at the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers.
Idris also said Nasarawa and Plateau states possess substantial mineral and agricultural resources which, if properly harnessed, could contribute significantly to job creation and sustainable development.
He called for closer collaboration between tertiary institutions and the North Central Development Commission, saying schools must go beyond producing graduates to generating research, innovation and skills capable of transforming the region’s resources into economic opportunities.
The minister said the Renewed Hope Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had continued to prioritise human capital development as a key component of its national development agenda.
He cited the commissioning of TETFund-sponsored projects across the country as evidence of the administration’s investment in tertiary education.
According to him, one of the projects commissioned during the third anniversary activities of the administration was the School of Science Complex at the Nasarawa State College of Education, Akwanga.
He said the facility was designed to strengthen the institution’s capacity to train science teachers, adding that such investments were necessary because the quality of Nigeria’s education system would ultimately determine the quality of its workforce.
The minister stressed the importance of town hall meetings in ensuring that government policies and interventions reflect the realities confronting institutions and students, noting that challenges in the education sector could not be fully understood through statistics and reports alone.
Earlier in 2026, TETFund’s intervention allocations were approved for 271 public tertiary institutions, with each university receiving N2.53 billion, polytechnics N1.87 billion and colleges of education N2.06 billion.
TETFund’s 2026 procurement plans also include projects covering medical simulation centres, ICT experience centres, AI-powered pedagogical centres, research laboratories and laboratory and workshop equipment across beneficiary institutions.