With just a week left before the compliance deadline, only seven out of 195 federal tertiary institutions in Nigeria have published their financial and institutional data. The Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership revealed this on Thursday. It is working with the Ministry of Education to track institutional responses.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, had instructed all federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to disclose data on student enrolment, grants, internally generated revenue (IGR), and federal allocations by May 31, 2025.
He emphasized that the information should be presented clearly and accessibly for public use.
Athena Launches Compliance Tracker
To promote accountability, the Athena Centre launched a live tracker. It allows Nigerians to see which institutions have complied.
In a public statement, Athena’s Communications Advisor, Aliyu Jalal, expressed concern about the poor response rate.
Chancellor Osita Chidoka described the directive as a leadership test. “Institutions must choose: transparency or shame,” he stated.
He also urged vice chancellors, rectors, and provosts to act before time runs out. “This is more than a ministerial order. It is a duty to the Nigerian people,” he said.
Athena’s findings show that most institutions have not uploaded the required data. Some only shared partial or outdated information.
University of Lagos received praise for publishing full financial statements from 2016 to 2023.
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, shared vague data on endowment projects without actual figures.
Federal Polytechnic, Ayede, uploaded a generic national budget, not one specific to the school.
University of Ilorin left out figures on postgraduate students.
Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, posted old audits from 2018 to 2022.
Federal University Gusau, Zamfara, shared only undergraduate figures and excluded financial reports.
Athena also found that many school websites had empty or broken financial report sections.
It warned that this behavior might reflect poor management or deliberate resistance to transparency. Either way, it undermines institutional credibility and contradicts the government’s push for openness.
Why Transparency Matters
Earlier this year, the Athena Centre released a report exposing the lack of financial openness in Nigerian institutions. According to the findings, none of the institutions had published their budgets.
Even worse, many ignored Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. This secrecy, the report said, blocks access to global research grants and hurts the institutions’ global image.
In response, Minister Alausa issued a national directive, urging schools to publish their financial statements and student population data.
Final Countdown
As the May 31 deadline approaches, the pressure is mounting. The Athena Centre called on institutional heads to act now.
“This is a countdown to accountability. Institutions that fail to comply will be named and remembered,” the Centre warned.
