The House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has directed the Management of Kaduna Polytechnic, the Ministry of Education and the Presidential Implementation Committee on government property to put a stop to the sale and allocation of property belonging to the federal tertiary institution.
This followed the consideration of a petition to the House by some serving and retired staff members of the polytechnic.
Property owned by the 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 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.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Public Assets, Hon 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 to the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas accused the management of the Kaduna Polytechnic of carrying out illegal action by carving out parts of their plots of land and selling them to non-staff of the institution without remitting the money to the government account.
They also claimed that most of the teaching and non-teaching staff of the polytechnic are not aware of the sale of the houses and plots of land owned by the institution..
The Committee directed that further allocations of plots of land and staff quarters of the Polytechnic to non-staff of the school be stopped pending the conclusion of investigation into the alleged shady deals.
Kuye said the suspension becomes necessary because if most of the plots of land and houses of the school are sold to non-staff, the 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 the Kaduna Polytechnic tomorrow. If you sell all the land and staff quarters particularly to non-staff of the school now, where will they be tomorrow?”
The Head of the Presidential Implementation Committee, Bala Sanusi in his submission told the Committee that the issue of leasing of Kaduna Polytechnic plots of land and houses had resulted in 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 Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
He said the resolution stipulates that non-staff of Kaduna Polytechnic shall not be a beneficiary of the allocations 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 the staff of the institution.
The petitioners on their part said contrary to the resolution as presented by the PIC, most of the school properties for lease were sold to non-staff while several staff were not aware that such things were 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 N4.7m and above, the authorities of the institution through the acting Director, Work of the Institute, Abdulrahaman Tukur, a consultant with PIC, Nura Usman and one Gimba Elisha, their plots of land were carved out and sold to non-staff of the school without remitting the proceed to government account.
Though Abdulrahaman Usman who represented the Rector, Dr Suleiman Umar, first denied knowing Nura Usman, later agreed to knowing him when reminded of the implications of telling lies to the committee while on oath.
