An anti-graft group, the Coalition for Truth and Justice, has indicated plans to stage a peaceful protest at the National Assembly over the alleged misuse of over N8.6 billion TETFUND allocation to the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa Toto, Nasarawa State.
In a statement in Abuja on Saturday, the group led by Richard Oduma said it would not keep quiet in the face of the alleged fraud which borders on contract scams, embezzlement of staff benefits as well as the management of the institution’s Microfinance Bank without taking decisive actions to bring the perpetrators to justice.
According to the group, the financial infraction took place in the institution between 2015-2023.
The group claimed it had evidence that the alleged looted funds were used to acquire 15 estates in Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The group in the statement particularly accused the Rector, Alhassan Abdullahi, of disregarding procurement laws and allocating contracts to his companies and those of his cronies without the intent of executing them.
It further alleged that a lot of fictitious names were included on the payroll of the Polytechnic which served as a conduit for siphoning funds by the Rector.
Also, the group accused Mr Abdullahi of awarding TETFUND recharge grants and scholarships to non-existent staff to “cover for his broad daylight theft of funds meant to develop the institution and provide welfare to the staff and students.”
“This type of corruption has no place in the present administration and we must fight it to the finish”, a part of the statement read.
The group further alleged that a top official of the institution criminally conspired with the institution’s Micro Finance Bank management to divert TETFUND allocations, promoting the supplanting of stooges to conceal these actions.
It added, “They used TETFUND money for ransom payments, including the purported kidnapping of the NASSPOLY Microfinance Bank Manager which many believe was prearranged to conceal the extravagant loot of TETFUND allocations to the institution is another barefaced criminality that has been unearthed by our clandestine investigations”.
As a way of ensuring that the petitions before the National Assembly and the voices of Nigerians who are concerned about the alleged rot in Federal Polytechnic Nassarawa are not glossed over, the group announced plans to hold a protest in collaboration with other stakeholders and civil society organisations at the National Assembly Complex on Wednesday 13 December.
it said the purpose of the protest is to “pass a strong and clear message to the Rector that corruption cannot thrive in Nigeria under the watch of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly must act immediately to effect the sack of Alhaji Alhassan Abdullahi to pave way for his immediate prosecution.”
The Rector, Mr Abdullahi, could not be reached on the phone for his comment as a text message to his known phone number had yet to be delivered and also a message that was left on his WhatsApp as of the time of filing this report.
