NUT's N1.4bn fraud claim is false - NTI

The National Teachers Institute (NTI) has described as 'unfounded,' the accusation levelled against it, which claimed that the institute short-changed teachers by paying them N2,500 each instead of the budgeted N14,000.The teachers, under the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), had alleged that they had been underpaid to the tune of N1.437 billion as allowances for their retraining, conducted by the NTI under the 2011 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programme.NTI Director-General, Dr Aminu Ladan Sharehu, debunked the claims at a meeting summoned by the Minister of State for Education, Mr Nyesom Wike, saying that the teachers were underpaid 'because the budgets for the fourth quarter of 2011 were not released and we intimated the Federal Ministry of Education.'He said when the budget for the fourth quarter was not released, the institute decided to use the balance of N300 million from the third quarter to pay each participating teacher N2,500 each, instead of leaving them to their fate.Dr Sharehu expressed regrets that the NUT leadership rushed to the press to level the allegation against the institute when, in actual fact, the situation had been made clear to them.The NTI boss further said the NUT president, Michael Olukoya, confirmed that they had been informed of the problems with the budget, after its National Executive Council (NEC) had taken a decision on the matter.
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