The chairman of the governing council for Ajayi Crowther University (ACU) in Oyo, Dr Olutoyin Okeowo, has urged the Nigerian government to take a look at the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TetFund) beneficiary list and add private universities to it.
In addition to celebrating his 70th birthday, Okeowo made this statement on Saturday during the opening of the Modupe Okeowo and Abiodun Ayanlaja Senate Building, which he personally funded and gifted to ACU.
He claimed that many resources are needed to manage a university and that well-meaning people and organisations have contributed to ACU’s advancement and achievements.
He stated that private universities, like Ajayi Crowther University, encounter difficulties with infrastructure, academic programmes, staff compensation, and funding.

“Private universities do not receive government funding from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), in contrast to public universities. We believe that this discrepancy is unfair. The management, employees, and parents of private university students are all citizens of this nation and have paid taxes, either directly or indirectly, from which the TETFUND is derived.
“We respectfully urge the Nigerian government to take immediate action to rectify this by granting the fund’s benefits to private, non-profit institutions, particularly faith-based universities like Ajayi Crowther University.”
He pointed out that ACU is steadily expanding and emphasised the university’s dedication to creating cutting-edge, internationally relevant curricula.
The university’s vice chancellor, Prof. Timothy Adebayo, praised the Okeowo family in his welcome speech and mentioned that the building will meet the institution’s space requirements.
He also wished Okeowo a happy birthday.
Henry Ndukuba, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Most Reverend Dr Joseph Akinfenwa, a visitor to the university, bishops from several church dioceses, Dr Wole Olanipekun, SAN, the chairman of the university board of trustees, and Dr Olorunibe Mamora, a former minister of state for health, were among those present.