A former lawmaker, Oghene Egoh, has praised President Bola Tinubu for the N2.5 billion Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) intervention for each Nigerian public university, polytechnic, and college of education.

Mr Egoh, who represented the Amuwo-Odofin Federal Constituency of Lagos, gave the commendation in an interview with journalists in Lagos on Sunday.

The former lawmaker described the release of the fund as a demonstration of the Tinubu administration’s commitment to revitalising Nigeria’s education sector and restoring confidence in public tertiary institutions.

He said that frequent and prolonged strikes by lecturers negatively affected Nigeria’s education standards, creating uncertainties for students.

According to him, such uncertainties forced many students to seek education abroad, particularly in Ghana, the Republic of Benin, and Uganda, where academic calendars are relatively stable.

Mr Egoh, however, said lecturers should not be blamed for recurring strikes, noting that their salaries had not increased much despite inflation and economic realities.

“Government often negotiates with lecturers and signs agreements, but these agreements are rarely implemented, leaving lecturers with no option but to embark on strike,” he said.

He expressed confidence that the intervention by Mr Tinubu would stabilise the education sector and end industrial unrest.

The former lawmaker added that the Tinubu administration had demonstrated sincerity and commitment to addressing long-standing challenges in the education sector.

Mr Egoh said the president’s passion for national development had translated into concrete actions.

He said that the Tinubu administration recognised that sustainable development would be impossible without a functional and well-funded education system.

Mr Egoh said issues that successive administrations failed to resolve, particularly those that compelled professors and other lecturers to seek opportunities abroad, had received attention under the Tinubu administration.

TETFund had announced the disbursement of N2.52 billion to each university in its 2026 intervention cycle.

Each polytechnic will receive N1.87 billion, while colleges of education will get N2.05 billion.

The fund is meant to improve infrastructure, research, and technology in the schools.

The 2026 intervention introduced a new funding line, the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), aimed at improving access to global academic resources and integrating the Tertiary Education, Research, Applications and Services (TERAS) platform into NgREN.

(NAN)