TETFund and ASUU’s renewed opposition to tax reform bills
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has found its seemingly lost voice on the Tax Reform Bills. The transmission of the bills to the National Assembly in October 2024 has generated controversy from different quarters. Civil society groups, human rights activists, religious bodies, among others, have made their positions known. In the last 72 […]
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has found its seemingly lost voice on the Tax Reform Bills. The transmission of the bills to the National Assembly in October 2024 has generated controversy from different quarters. Civil society groups, human rights activists, religious bodies, among others, have made their positions known.
In the last 72 hours, ASUU has launched a coordinated campaign against an aspect of the bills it considers injurious to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
From universities to zones, ASUU took a unanimous position, calling on the National Assembly to protect TETFund from being dismantled under the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024.
Speaking on Thursday in Makurdi, Benue State Capital, the zonal coordinator for ASUU-Nsukka Zone, Raphael Amokaha, said, “Without prejudice to other sections of this bill, ASUU-Nsukka Zone and indeed ASUU National are horrified by the contents of this bill with regards to the Education tax (also called development levy) and its implication for TETFund.”
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Amokaha explained that one of the major points of contention is the proposal to end the education tax, which currently funds TETFund, by 2030.
Reflecting on the historical context of TETFund’s establishment, Amokaha said the union fought hard for the creation of the fund, which has since been instrumental in rejuvenating Nigeria’s public universities.
He called on the federal and state governments to fulfil their constitutional duty to fund tertiary institutions adequately rather than relying on interventions like TETFund.
He said less than half of Nigerian students would benefit from the student loan scheme, as outlined in the Tax Reform Bills.
Weighing in on the situation, the Yola zone of ASUU in Adamawa State which comprised six universities, said the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024 as it stands will steadily starve TETFund of necessary funding.
It expressed worry that the Fund would die by 2030 when allocation to ceases completely, adding that the decision contradicts the TETFund Act 2011.
According to its coordinator, Dani Mamman, during a briefing, ASUU said it was unacceptable that the proposed controversial NTB 2024 seeks to dismantle TETFund by allocating only 50 percent of the development levy to it from 2025 to 2026 with the remaining half diverted to other agencies.
For the Abuja Zone comprising five universities, its coordinator, Salahu Lawal, said the bills, if passed, will reduce funding for TETFund for the first two years and dry it up completely by 2030.
The union said it would reject all moves to take away funding from the agency, which was first established in 1993 following ASUU’s persistent struggles and negotiations with the government.
“The survival of TETFund is a matter of national importance,” Mr Lawal said at the press conference held at the University of Abuja on Thursday.
The union called on the National Assembly to ensure that TETFund remains protected under the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024.
With the intervention of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum which asked the federal government not to scrap TETFUND, it remains to be seen whether ASUU will continue its campaign or put an end to it.