There is currently anger at the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), a key agency in the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education, over allegations of abuse of office, sexual harrassment and unfair transfer of married female workers.
Insider sources at the TETFUND alleged that Adams Echono, the younger brother of Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, has hijacked the agency’s leadership.
They noted that Adams Echono had allegedly taken full control of staff redeployment, using his influence to victimise workers, particularly “married women who refused his sexual advances.”
“The real man in charge at TETFUND is Adams Echono,” the source told SaharaReporters.
Another source added, “The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), a parastatal under the Ministry of Education, has become somewhat of a Gestapo institution. The leadership, headed by Arc. ST Echono, has relinquished power to his younger brother, Adams Echono, who now posts and redeploys staff at will.”
In the most recent wave of redeployments, the source said 17 staff were forcibly moved to zonal offices in April 2025; many of them were women who had resisted Adams Echono’s sexual advances.
“Some married ladies whom Adams Echono approached for an affair and who refused his advances have become the new victims, being posted to remote zonal offices across the country as a punishment.”
Backing Echono’s moves is Kolapo Okunlola, the Director of Human Resources and General Administration, who allegedly enforces all orders from the Executive Secretary’s brother without consulting other directors.
“Kolapo Okunlola is his cohort. He carries out all instructions from Adams without consulting his fellow Directors and without recourse to the Executive Secretary,” the source claimed.
The abuse of power at the Fund isn’t new. Back in 2022, Adams Echono reportedly redeployed over 50 staff members without official approval, mostly those he disliked or women who spurned him. The move was eventually reversed after directors protested to the Executive Secretary.
“That 2022 redeployment was eventually cancelled after Directors intervened. It was clear Adams was targeting people for personal reasons—those who didn’t pledge loyalty or women who rejected him.”
“The recent redeployment of 17 staff is strategic. It’s to clear the path to Directorship for Adams himself. He is currently just a Planning Officer but is eyeing the position of Director of Revenue and Investment. He is eliminating anyone he considers a threat to his ambition.”
“Mr. Adams Echono, an Assistant Director with no meaningful public service experience, is now the de facto Executive Secretary of TETFUND,” the source declared.
When contacted by SaharaReporters,
Adams Echono denied the allegations, describing them as mischievous.
He said: “Those allegations are not true. I did not work in HR, and I am not the director of HR. In fact, I was not around when the deployment was done. So, I don’t know why your sources are dragging me into what is not my duty. And on the issue of sexual harassment, I would have said you should approach TETFUND for reaction as an institution.”
“The claims are mischievous. We are all adults, I believe if there was an issue like that, the victims would have come forward to complain, and the agency would have done a proper investigation,” Adams told SaharaReporters.
© SaharaReporters
