By Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim, Goronyo
The petitioners and witch-hunters of Professor Idris M. Bugaje’s reputation are at it again trying to tarnish his prudent and uncorruptible character. They are eager to jump the yardstick of the law and question the unquestionable service of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).
With the help of unprofessional journalists, the petitioners are jumping the gun in their quest to intimidate the reputation of the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
The online story published by ICIR on February 10, 2025, titled “NBTE Executive Secretary under fire over multimillion Naira fraud allegation,” deviated from journalistic standards by including sentiment, unbalanced reporting, and bias.
ICIR provided a one-sided, fabricated story that favored the suspended former Director of Human Resources, Lawal Hafiz, who is still under investigation for diverting funds for accreditation. Hafiz’s responses, in letters to the Honorable Minister of Education and other government agencies, were not explained by ICIR, which seems to be engaging in unethical journalism.
Records show that Professor Bugaje has no record of corruption; he fights it with everything he has. Determined to eliminate corruption in all its forms, Professor Idris M. Bugaje established policy and transparency units wherever he worked. His enemy is corruption, and he detests it with a passion.
The alleged whistleblower in the ICIR newspaper report is the suspended former Human Resource Director of the NBTE, who is currently under investigation by the Board. It is understood that he paid ICIR to spread his narrative, trying to divert the attention of the Ministry of Education and the NBTE’s positive mission to set a good agenda for the nation and its people.
Our findings show that the NBTE Consult was established to generate income for the Board and to boost the Nigerian economy. Through NBTE Consult, the government has provided jobs for Nigerians and helped the NBTE Board to increase economic gains for the country. This is a positive initiative that helps the government achieve economic and infrastructural gains. The NBTE Consult provides accommodation services and contracts, both of which have a positive impact on the national economy and the Ministry of Education.
NBTE Consult Ltd was an innovation of the Executive Secretary in 2022. The company was registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to provide training and consultancy services in order to generate income for the NBTE. The company has been operating as a private firm within the law and generating additional revenue for the Board’s activities. This is especially important since the NBTE has no other major source of internally generated revenue, particularly given the need to divide the value of overhead budgets.
Regarding the allegation that N170 million was remitted into the personal account of an NBTE staff member, the NBTE explained that, ” since the creation of the NBTE in 1977, physical accreditation has been conducted through cash advances to staff. These staff then used the funds to pay for resource person airfare, honoraria, etc., and at the end of the process, made reimbursements that were audited.
The introduction of digital accreditation in early 2024 eliminated the need for such cash advances. However, this meant that a backlog of physical accreditations, some of which had already been paid for, still needed to be cleared. That period saw a lot of activities and cash advances all of which have now been retired.”
Our investigation revealed that Professor Bugaje was appointed NBTE Executive Secretary in 2021 while he was still the Rector of Kaduna Polytechnic. At that time, there was no functioning car available for his office, as all the cars were broken down and in need of repair.
According to the NBTE, “the NBTE had no ‘‘Luxury cars’’ to sell. What the ES inherited when he took office in 2021 were a bunch of accident vehicles and a Toyota Hilux as an official car. He had to borrow a car from Kaduna Polytechnic till year end when he managed to get 12 brand new vehicles from the capital budget and swap.
On accusation of accreditation and diverting funds, the NBTE in response said, it happened when the Board closed the door for physical accreditation but due to complaints from stakeholders the Board had to allow a window till March 2025 to enable all institutions to fix their ICT infrastructure, and said from April 2025 only digital accreditation shall be sustained and if any institution wants physical accreditation, it shall be outsourced to consultants as approved by the Hon. Minister of Education.
In clearing the terms of Ramat Polytechnic, the Board said, “last year Ramat Polytechnic hosted one hundred and one (101) external resource persons and so were other institutions. Paying N30Million for 100 persons reduces it to an average of ₦300,00 per resource person which is not outrageous going by the cost of air tickets. Furthermore, whatever institutions pay, there are other components that are not cash advanced such as copies of curricula, NBTE Journals, service charges, inspectorate surcharge, etc. For that reason the amount paid by institutions are always higher than cash advance to the finance officers for resource persons.” The Board insisted that there were no violations of financial regulations.
We verified that in mid-2024, there were several petitions filed by Lawal Hafiz by the suspended Director of the NBTE, and his collaborators. These petitions alleged the diversion of funds for accreditation. Additionally, the ICIR report was also found to be another fabricated story by the suspended Director of Human Resources, designed to misrepresent the Ministry of Education and the NBTE in their ongoing efforts to reposition polytechnic education.
While this ongoing quest by the suspended Director, who is under investigation, should be treated accordingly, the Director should be aware that he is committing a grave offense. This offense violates the civil service rules and may lead to his termination of service.
As concerned citizens of Nigeria who pursue the interests of the majority and support the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and the NBTE in promoting skills and technical knowledge for the good of the country and Nigerians, we cannot stand by and watch corrupt elements try to hijack the Minister of Education’s good agenda. We sincerely hope the perpetrator of this malicious content will be punished, and to cap it all the Executive Secretary of the NBTE is not under any investigation.
Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim, Goronyo is an international human rights activist and member of UNIP, Bangladesh.