The House of Representatives Committee on Polytechnics and Other Higher Technical Education has raised concerns over the Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, Cross River State, spending ₦600 million on personnel salaries and overhead costs despite having only 142 students.
The institution, established in 2021, employs 154 academic and non-academic staff. During a budget defense session for 2024, the committee’s chairman, Fouad Laguda, expressed displeasure, highlighting ₦38 million spent on local travels.
The Rector, Edward Okey, explained that the polytechnic used its ₦2 billion take-off grant to renovate abandoned buildings of the Ugep Community Secondary School, which serves as its temporary campus. He noted that 10 projects at the permanent site are at various stages of completion.
“Our temporary site was abandoned for 25 years before we renovated it. Challenges such as stigmas about Ugep make it difficult to attract students and staff,” Okey said.
A committee member described the expenditure as “wasteful and unsustainable,” questioning the justification for nearly ₦500 million in personnel costs and ₦159 million in overheads for such a small student population.
**SSANIP Decries Delay in Federal Polytechnic Salaries**
In a related development, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) has criticized the Federal Government’s delay in paying November salaries to polytechnic workers nationwide.
SSANIP’s National President, Philip Ogunsipe, attributed the delay to inefficiencies in migrating from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).
“The process has been marred by a lack of essential records and human capital to manage the transition, leaving institutions in disarray,” Ogunsipe stated.
The union urged the Minister of Finance and the Accountant-General to urgently resolve the issue, warning that the delay is causing severe financial hardship for workers amidst Nigeria’s challenging economic climate.
