Prof. Muazu Abubakar, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University in Gusau, has denied accusations that members of the House of Representatives Committee on University Education wanted 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 denied media claims that lawmakers forced vice-chancellors to pay N8 million apiece as a condition for accepting their allocations.
He observed that the story particularly named a “stubborn vice-chancellor” who was thought to be him, and that while he had planned to ignore the charges, he chose to respond to avoid any inaccurate narratives from being accepted as fact.
“The Federal University, Gusau, has been alerted to a viral internet post headlined Investigation: Nigerian Lawmakers Demand N480 Million from Universities to Approve 2025 Budget.
“We categorically clarify that no member of the university team that attended the budget defence was involved in the media coverage. We encourage you, Mr. Chairman, and your distinguished committee members, to dismiss this spiteful and sensational report, which seeks to mislead the public and harm productive journalism.
Abubakar thanked the committee for its support, calling the budget defense session “robust, friendly, and engaging.”
Similarly, Fulata had previously refuted the charges during a press briefing, claiming that they were an attempt to undermine the committee’s efforts to improve 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 added, emphasizing that the story attempted to deceive the public about the committee’s and the 10th House of Representatives’ operations.
In a statement released last Wednesday, House spokesman Akin Rotimi condemned the media article (which is not from iteport247new) as a premeditated attempt to destroy MPs’ reputations.
Rotimi stated, “The 10th House of Representatives is deeply devoted to transparency, accountability, and the highest ethical standards in all of its legislative actions. These ideals are the foundation of our activities. It is therefore necessary to confront the false and sensational charges in the report, which appear to be part of a concerted attempt to undermine the House’s integrity and destroy public trust in this revered institution.”
The House spokesman denied the media claim, saying it “lacks any diligent investigative effort as they would want people to believe, and instead, amplifies fabricated narratives by individuals seeking to evade accountability.”