Reps Chide 3 Polytechnics Over Financial Infractions

House of Representatives Committee on Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education has scolded the Federal Polytechnics in  Mubi, Adamawa State, Monguno, Borno State and Federal Polytechnic, Damaturu, Yobe State over financial and other infractions.

The committee scored the schools low when rectors and some management staff of the three institutions appeared before it as part of the oversight function s to render the accounts of their budget performances.

At the interface, the panel discovered various infractions in the documents presented by the three institutions, ranging from abuse of federal character in employment, extra-budgetary spending and recurring abandoned, uncompleted projects in one of the institutions.

The committee found out during the presentation by the rector of Federal Polytechnic Mubi, Dr Abdulrahman Ishaku, that projects which were to be completed in two to three years were not finished despite adequate release of funds in the budget.

The committee was furious over the non-completion of a staff quarter and an administrative block project by the institution for years.

Hon. Emil Inyang who stood in for the committee chairman, Hon. Fuad Kayode Laguda at the meeting, lamented that the projects had not been completed but had been recurring in the budgets.

In his ruling after the submission, the chairman asked the rector to list all the abandoned structures, how much was appropriated and put in till date, the state of those projects one after the other in the entire school for inclusion in the 2025 budget.

Similarly, the committee berated the Federal Polytechnic Damaturu for using insecurity as an excuse for financial impropriety and other infractions as well the abuse of federal character in employment.

The chairman of the committee noted that the institution had carelessly spent its Internally Generated Revenue according to the records presented to the committee.

The acting rector, Dr Ibrahim Babale Gashua, said the institution was facing low IGR as a result of the insecurity being faced in the state which he said had reduced student intake and other activities.

But the committee observed that despite the insurgency claim, there was no commensurate reduction in its spending which the panel said could not be justified.

Also, after a presentation by the rector, Federal Polytechnic Monguno, Prof. Garba Mohammed, the committee directed the institution to also be diligent in its observance of the federal character and other issues as it discovered skewed employment in favour of a particular section of the country.