[2:24 PM, 12/3/2024] CHIEF ENEBUSE: The House of Representatives at the plenary on Tuesday urged President Bola Tinubu to mandate the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun to ensure that all frozen accounts of the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) are unfrozen within 72 hours to enable the smooth recommencement of all programmes and the release of funds to NSIPA for the payment of outstanding stipends owed to 395,731 N-Power beneficiaries nationwide.
The House also urged the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to ensure that all the administrative bottlenecks hindering the smooth operations of all prog…
[2:29 PM, 12/3/2024] CHIEF ENEBUSE: Reps Panel Discovers Polytechnic With Only 142 Students, Spending Over N600 Million On Personnel, Overhead
The House of Representatives Committee on Polytechnics and other Higher Technical Education expressed shock over the discovery that, Federal Polytechnic Ugep, Cross Rivers State spends over N600 million on personnel and Overhead costs despite having only 142 students and 154 academic and non-academic staff.
This was discovered after a submission on budget performance and other activities by the Rector of the Polytechnic, Professor Edward N.Okey before the Committee on Monday.
The Committee had as part of its ongoing oversight function invited Federal Polytechnics and some other technical institutions from the South-South to appear which include; Federal Polytechnic, Orogun; Federal Polytechnic, Ugep; Federal Polytechnic Oil &Gas, Bonny; Federal Polytechnic, Auchi; Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe; Federal Polytechnic Ukana and the National Institute of Construction Technology Management, Uromi.
The Committee Chairman, Fouad Kayode Laguda and members were also angered that, Federal Polytechnic Ugep also spent N38 million on local travel.
In his presentation, the Rector claimed that, they also spent N20 Billion take-off grant to renovate the abandoned, dilapidated structure of Ugep Community Secondary School to use as a temporary campus and put up structures on the Institute of Technology Management (ITM) which he said they have eventually taken over as their permanent site.
“Our school was established in 2021. When we went to Ugep in 2021, we were to start the school at a temporary site in the state Polytechnic called Institute of Technology and Management (ITM). But, when we got there, 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 to take off.that took us more than a year, because Ugep is not a town, it’s a village. It’s 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 that, those buildings were abandoned for 25 years. So, we have to renovate those buildings. It took us more than one year to renovate those buildings for us to start.
“With our 2022 take up, we identified a permanent site. We started different projects, about 10 projects on the permanent site. Some are at different levels of completion. Getting students and staff in Ugep has not been an easy task, because of some kind of stigma that Ugep carries.
“Even my Council members, the first set, refused to come to Ugep to have a meeting, because they are scared of Ugep. Because Ugep used to have a tradition of eating people. But, that was hundreds of years ago.
“That doesn’t happen again. But, once a stigma is created, its difficult to erase. We have been working to erase that stigma, the people need the school. They need that exposure, but to attract students is not easy.
“When we started, it was just last month that we were able to take over the school which we could have started with in 2021, ITM. It is in Ugep. That school started in 2012 by former governor, Liyel Imoke. And the students number now, as I called them. The old students were 34 and the new students are 29. They have a total number of 63 students, since 2012 when they started. To tell you the difficulty of the place.
“We started, we had 16 students, but this year, we have admitted 63 so far, so we have a total of 79. So, invariably, we have performed more than the school that started 12 years ago. Now, we have a total of 132. We took over the students and staff of ITM”.
But, the Chairman interjected and corrected the Rector on the number of students saying that when added, it is 142 not 132.
Speaking on the school’s take off grant utilisation, the Rector said, “Yes, we had a take-off grant of N2 Billion. The take-off grant of N2 Billion, we use part of it to renovate the school we started with. We used part of it to construct School of Engineering, we also used part of it to construct the Perimeter fence , we used part of it to do a Guest House and we used part of it to buy a Hilux which is the only vehicle I am using now and also a Business for the school”.
However, a member of the Committee after an observation described the spendings by the institution as a waste and unsustainable.
He said, “It is high time we tell ourselves the truth. If you have 142 students, that’s like an Elementary school. In my village, we have a primary school. The students there are more than 500. A Polytechnic, a federal Polytechnic for that matter having 142 students and your personnel is N496 million, almost N500 million, for a school that has 142 students. Your overhead is N159 million, for a school that 142 students. Your Capital is N25 million. What is the justification for all these spendings?”.
Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Fuad Kayode Laguda while addressing the Rectors at the end of the sitting expressed the disappointment of the Committee over the poor presentation by the institutions.
He said, “We called schools from South-South for an oversight and… Not one of the schools met the required requirements or did what was expected. Considering the fact that you had over a week notification.
“But you’ve been aware over two months ago that your turn was going to come. Because we’ve been doing this oversight function for a while. Out of seven schools, one of the schools is not even here today.
“What school is that again? One of the schools is not here today. Out of the six schools, only three came with half-baked reports. Three others were not prepared for us.
“And we took our own time, left every other thing that we had to do. To ensure this day, this exercise sees the light of the day. We are going to request that you’re going to come back.
Every single school of you. And when you come back, you have to come back with your complete team. To come and re-present your reports.
“See the clerk after now to give you requirements of what is expected of your budget review. We would, in less than a week, will recall you here to come and make this presentation”.
