House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has directed the management of Kaduna Polytechnic, Ministry of Education and the Presidential Implementation Committee on Government Property to put a stop to the sale and allocation of property belonging to federal tertiary institutions.
This followed the consideration of a petition to the House by some serving and retired staff of the polytechnic.
Property owned by Kaduna Polytechnic spread across the state, comprising land, staff quarters and guest houses are being sold to staff and non-staff of the polytechnic.
The committee also summoned the Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr Suleiman Umar, permanent secretary, Ministry of Education and head of the Presidential Implementation Committee, including the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics, Kaduna Polytechnic chapters to an investigative hearing.
Chairman of the House Committee on Public Assets, Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos) said the specific date, time and venue for their appearance will be communicated to them.
The polytechnic staff had in a petition addressed t Speaker Tajudeen Abbas accused the management of Kaduna Polytechnic of carrying out illegal action by carving out part of their plots of land and selling them to non-staff of the institution without remitting the money into government’s account.
They also claimed that most of the teaching and non-teaching staff are not aware of the sale of the houses and plots of land owned by the institution.
The committee directed that further allocation of plots of land and staff quarters to non-staff of the school be stopped pending the conclusion of investigation into the alleged shady deals.
Kuye said the suspension became necessary because if most of the plots of land and houses are sold to non-staff, future lecturers and non-teaching staff will not find it easy to operate.
Kuye said: “We have a lot of students who are in school now who will become staff of Kaduna Polytechnic tomorrow. If you sell all the lands and staff quarters particularly to non-staff, where will they be tomorrow?”
The Head of the Presidential Implementation Committee, Bala Sanusi told the committee that the issue of leasing of Kaduna Polytechnic plots of land and houses had resulted in a legal battle that lasted for over ten years before it was later resolved through out- of-court settlement.
Sanusi said the agreement reached by the parties involved in the case led to the resolution which was approved by Kaduna Polytechnic Board, PIC and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF.
He said the resolution stipulates that non-staff of Kaduna Polytechnic shall not be beneficiaries of the allocation of plots of land and houses.
He was unable to provide answers when asked the medium used to advertise the sale, which gave non-staff an advantage over staff of the institution.
The petitioners said contrary to the resolution presented by PIC, most of the school properties for lease were sold to non-staff, while several staff were not aware that such things are ongoing.
Speaking on behalf of the petitioners, two of their leaders, Dr Omale Apochi and Isiaka Bankole, said they only got information of the process on owner– occupier basis stressing that most of their colleagues were ignorant of the process.
They alleged that despite meeting all the requirements, including payment of between N4.7 million and above, the authorities of the institution through the Acting Director, Works, Abdulrahaman Tukur, a consultant with PIC, Nura Usman and Gimba Elisha, their plots of land were carved out and sold to non-staff without remitting the proceeds into government’s account.
Though Abdulrahaman Usman who represented the Rector, Dr Suleiman Umar, first denied knowing Nura Usman, he later agreed to knowing him when reminded of the implications of telling lies to the committee while on oath.
