Kaduna Polytechnic Faces Firestorm: Land Sales Scandal Explodes!

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has halted the allocation of land and houses at Kaduna Polytechnic to individuals outside the institution’s staff following grievances from serving and retired staff members……CONTINUE READING

The committee’s decision was prompted by a petition alleging misconduct by the management of Kaduna Polytechnic, which also summoned the institution’s Rector, Dr. Suleiman Umar, for clarification.

Also summoned are the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and the Head of the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC), along with representatives from the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) Kaduna Polytechnic branch.

Chairman of the House Committee on Public Assets, Ademorin Kuye, announced that the specific date, time, and venue for their appearance will be communicated soon.

The petition, addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Abbas Tajudeen, PhD, accuses Kaduna Polytechnic authorities of unauthorized sales of staff land and houses without remitting proceeds to government accounts, a claim vehemently denied by the institution.

During the investigative hearing, Chairman Kuye emphasized that the committee received the petition from the Speaker for thorough consideration and investigation.

Following presentations from the Presidential Implementation Committee and Kaduna Polytechnic management, the committee temporarily suspended all land and housing allocations to non-staff members pending further investigation into alleged irregularities in property sales.

Kuye explained the necessity of the suspension, arguing that selling school properties to non-staff could jeopardize future operations for lecturers and non-teaching staff.

“We have current students who will eventually become staff at Kaduna Polytechnic. If all the land and staff quarters are sold to non-staff now, where will they reside in the future?” Kuye questioned.

He cited a resolution arising from a previous legal dispute over Kaduna Polytechnic properties, stating that non-staff are not entitled to property allocations according to agreements reached and approved by relevant authorities.

Bala Sanusi, Head of the Presidential Implementation Committee, confirmed during his testimony that the lease agreements exclude non-staff from benefiting from Kaduna Polytechnic’s property allocations.

Petitioners representing retired and serving staff members expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation of these agreements, alleging that while they met all requirements, their land plots were unlawfully sold to non-staff without proper notification to the majority of staff members.

The committee has pledged to conduct an on-site inspection at Kaduna Polytechnic to gather additional evidence regarding the disputed land allocations.