Tinubu cancels 40% IGR deduction from varsities

The Federal Government has succumbed to pressure and put a stop to the automatic deduction of 40 percent from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR, of tertiary institutions.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the cancellation of the policy on Friday.

Tinubu was speaking at the 75th Founder’s Day ceremony of the University of Ibadan (UI), which was still in progress.

He was represented by the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, who was the visitor to the university. He said the policy was inappropriate for the current situation.

“The 40 percent IGR automatic deduction policy is no longer in effect. This is not the right time for such a policy since our universities are facing difficulties,” he stated.

It was revealed last week that the government was planning to start implementing a 40 percent automatic deduction from internally generated revenues of federal universities and other partially funded institutions.

The move came at a time when the economy was collapsing and the nation’s tertiary institutions were poorly funded, raising alarm among stakeholders about the negative consequences of the policy.

The leaked memo from the Revenue and Investment Department of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation in the Federal Ministry of Finance informed the institutions of the government’s automatic deduction of 40 percent of its IGR starting in November.