TheCable

Adamu Adamu, minister of education, has constituted white-paper drafting panels to look into the reports of visitation panels to tertiary institutions across the country.

The federal government had, in April 2021, inaugurated visitation panels to probe the activities of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.

At the time, Adamu had said the panels’ activities would cover a period of 10 years — 2010 to 2020.

He said the panels would be expected to present two reports — one covering 2010 to 2015, and the second for 2016 to 2020.

In August 2021, the federal government received the reports of the panels, which were said to have looked into financial management of the institutions, compliance with procurement laws, and application of funds, particularly grants and loans for specific projects.

One of the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which is currently on strike, is that the federal government releases the report of the visitation panels.

According to a statement issued on Thursday by Ben Goong, spokesman of the ministry of education, a 10-member white-paper drafting panel has been constituted for 36 universities.

He also said six panels have been constituted for 25 polytechnics, while five panels will work on the report from 21 colleges of education.

Goong said the panels will be inaugurated in the “coming days”, adding that the committees will have two weeks from the day of their inauguration to submit their reports.