Reps give Kaduna Polytechnic 72 hours to explain falling revenue, pension deductions

Chairman, Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, Fuad Laguda

The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education has given the management of Kaduna Polytechnic 72 hours to submit records of its internally generated revenue (IGR), pension deductions, National Housing Fund (NHF) contributions and other financial transactions.

The directive followed concerns raised by the committee over the institution’s declining revenue despite an increase in its student population, as well as the need to verify the remittance of statutory deductions and payment of benefits to families of deceased staff.

The committee’s Chairman, Fuad Laguda (APC, Lagos), issued the directive on Tuesday during an oversight visit to the institution, asking the management to submit the outstanding documents to the National Assembly within three working days.

The requested documents include the institution’s staff nominal roll, full-time and part-time student population, evidence of remittances for pension deductions, records of NHF contributions, and details of death benefits paid to the families of deceased employees between 2023 and 2025.

The lawmakers also demanded information on the institution’s investments, corporations, procurement and maintenance activities, renovation works in the security division and the School of Health Technology, as well as a list of its external solicitors.

Figures presented by the institution showed that its IGR fell from N1.478 billion in 2023 to N1.398 billion in 2024 and N1.332 billion in 2025.

The figures prompted the committee to question the accuracy of the revenue records, particularly given the reported growth in student enrolment.

Mr Laguda said the figures appeared lower than expected and asked the management to provide a comprehensive account of the institution’s revenue and expenditure.

“Taking a rough calculation of what we are doing here, it looks as if what you have given us is under-declared. The figure is too low. In other words, it seems what you are giving us here is not accurate,” he said.

The committee also sought clarification on approximately N1.3 billion in pension deductions, demanding documentary evidence that the money had been remitted to the appropriate authorities.

Mr Laguda said the committee needed the records to establish whether the institution had met its statutory obligations.

The lawmakers also questioned the handling of death benefits for former employees, noting that more than 30 staff members reportedly died between 2023 and 2025.

Mr Laguda said the committee had not received evidence showing that the benefits had reached the deceased employees’ next of kin.

“In terms of death benefits, over 30 staff died during these years (2023-2025), yet there is no evidence of the payments of the benefits to their next of kin. We would like to have a comprehensive breakdown of this,” he said.

The committee then requested a detailed account of the benefits and how they were paid.

During the inspection, the lawmakers also examined the institution’s facilities, including an upgraded studio for its Departments of Media and Mass Communication.

Mr Laguda said the committee was not fully satisfied with the condition of some facilities, adding that it needed more documentation before it could reach a conclusion on the issues raised.

He said the institution needed to improve the condition of its buildings and ensure that its available resources were properly utilised.

“We’ve asked them to make further submissions to us at the National Assembly within 72 hours. That is three working days,” he said.

Responding to the lawmakers’ concerns, the Rector of Kaduna Polytechnic, Suleiman Umar, said the institution had remitted all pension deductions and was up to date with its obligations.

Mr Umar, who was represented by the Deputy Rector (Academic), Aliyu Usman, said the institution had no outstanding issues regarding pension remittances.

“As for pension, we do not have any issues at all. All our pension deductions are promptly remitted. In fact, even though the October salary has not been paid, the pension has been raised,” he said.

He also explained that the institution did not directly pay death benefits to the families of deceased employees, saying the payments were handled by the relevant insurance companies.

On security expenditure, he said the institution outsourced its security services to private security organisations.

Mr Umar further maintained that the institution had no outstanding issues concerning NHF deductions and that the relevant records were available for submission to the committee.

He assured the lawmakers that the management would provide all requested documents within the stipulated 72-hour deadline.

The committee is expected to review the submissions before determining whether the institution complied with its financial and statutory obligations.