VC dismisses allegation that Reps demand N480m bribe to approve varsities’ budgets

The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Gusau, Prof. Muazu Abubakar, has denied allegations that members of the House of Representatives Committee on University Education demanded N480m to approve the 2025 budgets for federal universities.
In a letter dated January 27, addressed to the committee’s chairman, Abubakar Fulata, the VC refuted media reports claiming that lawmakers pressured vice-chancellors to pay N8m each in exchange for approving their allocations. He pointed out that the report specifically named a “stubborn vice-chancellor,” believed to be him. While he initially planned to ignore the claims, he chose to respond in order to prevent any misleading narratives from being accepted as truth.
“The attention of the Federal University, Gusau, has been drawn to a trending online report titled Investigation: Nigerian Lawmakers Demand N480 million from Universities to Approve 2025 Budget.
“We categorically state that no member of the university team present at the budget defence was part of the information circulated in the media. We urge you, Mr. Chairman, and your esteemed committee members to disregard this malicious and sensational report, which aims to mislead the public and undermine constructive journalism.”
Abubakar commended the committee for its support, describing the budget defence session as “robust, friendly, and engaging.”
Similarly, Fulata had earlier dismissed the allegations at a press briefing, insisting that they were an attempt to discredit the committee’s efforts to enhance 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 said, stressing that the report sought to mislead the public about the activities of the committee and the 10th House of Representatives.
In a statement last Wednesday, the spokesman for the House, Akin Rotimi, described the media report (not by The PUNCH) as a deliberate attempt to smear lawmakers’ reputation.
Rotimi said, “The 10th House of Representatives is firmly committed to transparency, accountability, and the highest ethical standards in all its legislative activities. These values form the bedrock of our operations. It is, therefore, imperative to address the baseless and sensational allegations in the report, which appear to be part of a deliberate attempt to undermine the integrity of the House and erode public trust in this hallowed institution.”
Denying the media report, the House spokesman said it “lacks any diligent investigative effort as they would want people to believe, and instead, amplifies fabricated narratives by individuals seeking to evade accountability.”