ICPC Accuses TETFund Contractors of Diverting ₦2.2 Billion Meant for Student Training

An investigation has revealed how the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) deducted funds from the 2023 disbursements of tertiary institutions without their consent for training programs that were never delivered. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has since charged two contractors, Paul Chukwuma of Fides Et Ratio Academy Ltd and Adedeji Ladipo of Pole Global Marketing Limited, with money laundering and fraudulent diversion of funds.

Court documents reveal that the contractors, through their companies, failed to execute multi-billion-naira training contracts awarded by TETFund and instead diverted the funds. Chukwuma is accused of misusing over ₦669 million meant for training students across multiple institutions, including Federal University Gusau and Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, and using part of the funds to purchase a ₦300 million Mercedes-Benz Maybach and convert ₦450 million to U.S. dollars. Ladipo is charged with diverting ₦808 million allocated for the training of 2,239 individuals, converting the funds into foreign currency, and failing to deliver on the contracts.

The ICPC’s investigation, prompted by a PREMIUM TIMES report, also implicated senior TETFund officials. TETFund, which is funded through a 3% company income tax levy to support Nigerian tertiary education, was found to have allocated payments of ₦2.9 billion to Fides Et Ratio Academy in 2023 without evidence of the promised training programs being conducted.

The accused parties now face multiple charges under Nigeria’s Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act (2022).

Source: PremiumTimes