Reps committee faults polytechnic’s N600m expenditure

The House of Representatives Committee on Polytechnics and Other Higher Technical Education has raised concerns over the Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, Cross River State, for spending N600m on personnel and overhead costs within a single budget cycle, despite having only 142 students.

The institution, established in 2021, currently employs 154 academic and non-academic staff.

Expressing dissatisfaction, the committee chairman, Fouad Laguda, on Tuesday, criticised the management’s financial decisions, particularly the N38m spent on local travels.

Appearing before the committee to defend the polytechnic’s 2024 budget performance, the Rector, Edward Okey, explained that a significant portion of the institution’s N2bn take-off grant was used to renovate abandoned structures at Ugep Community Secondary School, which now serves as the polytechnic’s temporary campus.

“Our school was established in 2021. When we went to Ugep, we were to start the school at a temporary site in the State Polytechnic called the Institute of Technology and Management. However, we could not get the State Polytechnic to start the school.

“So, the first challenge we had was to identify a temporary site to start the school. That took us more than a year because Ugep is a big town, but it’s a local town. To get a school for us to start was not an easy task.

“After going around the village, we ended up with dilapidated buildings of a secondary school called Ugep Community Secondary School. The principal of that school told us those buildings had been abandoned for 25 years.

“We had to renovate those buildings, and it took us more than a year to make them usable. With our 2022 take-off grant, we identified a permanent site and started various projects, about 10 of them, which are now at different levels of completion. Getting students and staff to Ugep has not been easy due to a stigma associated with the town,” Okey explained.

Despite the rector’s defence, a committee member described the institution’s spending as “wasteful” and “unsustainable.”

“It is high time we tell ourselves the truth. If you have 142 students, that’s like an elementary school,” the member observed.

“In my village, we have a primary school with over 500 students. A federal polytechnic with only 142 students is spending N496 million on personnel and N159 million on overhead. What is the justification for this expenditure?”

Addressing the polytechnic heads, Laguda expressed disappointment in the presentations from institutions across the South-South region.

“We called schools from the South-South for oversight, and not one met the requirements or performed as expected,” Laguda said.

“We will request that you return with your complete team and re-present your reports. See the clerk to obtain the necessary requirements for your budget review. You will be recalled within the week to make your presentation,” he concluded.