Aminu Bello Masari, Chairman of the TETFund Board of Trustees, announced this in Abuja at the 2025 TETFund National Town Hall Meeting, attended by government officials, vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts, and academic union representatives. Masari, a former governor of Katsina State and ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, stated that the solar initiative aims to promote renewable energy in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The benefiting institutions include the Nigerian Army University in Biu, Borno State; Northwest University in Kano; Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma, Edo State; Alvan Ikoku University of Education in Owerri, Imo State; and Lagos State University, among others.
Masari emphasized that the Town Hall Meeting was organized to enhance transparency and responsiveness in Nigeria’s tertiary education system. He highlighted TETFund’s achievements under Tinubu’s administration, including master’s and PhD sponsorships for thousands of scholars, support for teaching practice, research, and conference attendance.
He outlined the Board’s vision for globally competitive, research-driven institutions producing employable graduates capable of solving national challenges. To achieve this, TETFund plans to strengthen accountability, invest in alternative energy and digital learning, promote advanced research, and deepen industry and international collaborations.
Sonny Echono, TETFund’s Executive Secretary, praised Tinubu for increasing the education tax allocation from 2.5% to 3%, boosting the Fund’s intervention capacity. He also clarified the temporary suspension of foreign training for scholars, except for specialized programmes, to address scholar abscondment.
Emmanuel Osodeke, former ASUU President, warned against the proliferation of universities as "constituency projects" and urged the National Assembly to restrict new institutions from accessing TETFund interventions for at least five to ten years.