FG converts recovered EFCC assets into infrastructure for quality education– Alausa
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is turning proceeds of crime into investments that improve student welfare, strengthen learning infrastructure and expand access to quality education across Nigeria.
Dr Alausa made this known while receiving recovered assets handed over by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at a restitution ceremony in Abuja. He said the Federal Government’s asset recovery programme reflects the President’s commitment to ensuring that resources seized from criminal activities are redirected to projects that directly benefit Nigerians, particularly children and young persons.
The assets, comprising 501 double-decker bed frames, 939 mattresses and 12 wooden beds with mattresses, were formally transferred to the Federal Ministry of Education, with the handover sealed through the signing of a Deed of Release by representatives of both institutions, including the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan.
Dr Alausa said the initiative underscored the Tinubu administration’s determination to reinvest recovered public assets in critical sectors, describing education as central to the President’s vision of building a one-trillion-dollar economy through sustained investment in human capital.
Converting recovered assets into educational resources, he added, demonstrated a deliberate policy of turning the proceeds of crime into opportunities that enhance learning outcomes and secure a brighter future for Nigerian students.
He recalled that President Tinubu had earlier approved the conversion of a forfeited university facility into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, rather than allowing the property to be sold.
The institution, he noted, has since enrolled more than 3,000 students across programmes in applied sciences, engineering, nursing and health sciences, opening fresh opportunities for young Nigerians to gain skills needed for national development.
The minister said the newly recovered assets would significantly improve accommodation and welfare for students in colleges and other educational institutions nationwide, and gave an assurance that they would be distributed transparently and equitably to Unity Schools across the country to enhance student welfare and strengthen learning infrastructure.
Dr Alausa commended the EFCC Chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede, for strengthening public confidence in the anti-graft agency through professionalism, adherence to the rule of law and sustained efforts to tackle corruption, procurement fraud and cybercrime.
Speaking earlier, Olukoyede disclosed that the assets were recovered during Operation Eagle Flush, one of the Commission’s largest cybercrime operations, carried out towards the end of 2024. He said the operation led to the arrest of about 792 suspects, including foreign nationals, who were investigated, prosecuted, convicted and repatriated after serving their prison terms.
The EFCC boss said the restitution was in line with the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Commission’s commitment to ensuring recovered assets are transparently deployed for national development. He noted that children and young people are among the greatest victims of corruption and financial crimes, making it fitting that they benefit from assets recovered from criminal enterprises.
Olukoyede also cited previous EFCC interventions in education, including the transfer of the forfeited facility now housing the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, and the deployment of recovered funds as seed capital for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), through which about 1.4 million students have benefited from tuition support and monthly upkeep allowances.