The National Board for Technical Education is currently enmeshed in crisis following the illegal suspension of a former Director, Human Resources, Lawal Hafiz, by the Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje.

Consequently, the former director of the NBTE, saddled with overseeing technical education, has petitioned the head of the organisation.

In the petition of the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, Bugaje was accused of illegally suspending a director of the board in an alleged case of witch-hunt.

Hafiz, also claimed that he was suspended following the allegation of being the arrowhead of whistleblowers who petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over the alleged illegal withdrawal of N200 million from the board’s Single Treasury Account (TSA) to a commercial bank.

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According to Hafiz in the petition, the Executive Secretary feigned ignorance of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission and, instead, descended on the perceived whistleblowers by redeploying them and making them redundant.

He also accused the NBTE boss of deployment of board’s fully paid staff as manager of the executive secretary’s wife’s restaurant, and payment of salary to already employed federal government employees.

He then appealed to the minister to call the Executive Secretary, to order and restore the management committee comprising all directors of the board and disband the NBTE EXCO where only a few directors are members, an act not recognised by the NBTE laws.

Hafiz also added that even the query given to him on using public transport to conduct official engagements was answered in line with public service rules, yet he was suspended.

The petition read, “First, I wish to crave your indulgence to give a brief on the development that led to the unwarranted actions on my person by the Executive Secretary. Some times in May, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) opened an investigation into an allegation of withdrawal of over two hundred million naira from the Board’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to a Commercial Bank account of the NBTE Consult Ltd using some staff of the Finance Department as conduits. (See list of some of the officers interrogated in appendix Ia-Ib).

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“Other allegations under investigation include the sale of luxury cars and buses under a swap arrangement without records, receiving kickback from contractors and operating an illegal kickback fund named known in Islam as Baytil Maal (See screenshot of WhatsApp chat with the ES in appendix II.”

“Furthermore, as part of the vengeance, he created what he called NBTE EXCO in place of the Management Committee made up of a handful of Directors to form the NBTE EXCO; effectively shutting me along with other Directors believed to be whistleblowers or not in his good books out of management committee. With this segregation, the NBTE EXCO meets monthly to make decisions while other Directors, including me, will only meet when necessary.

“This is quite strange as this scenario doesn’t exist in other regulatory agencies; National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) not to talk of other MDAs in public service. Management Committee everywhere is made up of all Directors of the establishment. The main target here is me. (see ES memo on formation NBTE EXCO as appendix III).”

NBTE boss dispels corruption allegations, vows to sanitise agency.

However, when contactedon the matter, the executive secretary, denied the allegations, while noting that the director was suspended, following his unsatisfactory reply to the query issued to him by the management.

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The NBTE boss also denied allegations of corruption and embezzlement, attributing the claims to a disgruntled employee of the agency.

In an interview with The PUNCH , Bugaje addressed the allegations, stating that the NBTE has introduced digital accreditation to reduce corruption and increase transparency.

“We discovered that physical accreditation was prone to corruption, with institutions trying to cut corners. Digital accreditation ensures a more transparent process,” he explained.

“Regarding the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission investigation, Bugaje clarified that some staff members were invited for questioning, but it is not under investigation.

“The ICPC is a partner in our quality assurance exercise. We have a Memorandum of Understanding to combat illegal institutions defrauding students and parents,” he stated.

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Bugaje attributed the allegations to a former Director of Human Resources, Lawal Hafiz, who allegedly sought to take over as acting executive secretary, adding that “Lawal Hafiz was trying to create problems between me and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics. He also attempted to short-change the board,” he alleged.

The NBTE boss emphasised his commitment to transparency and accountability, citing his 43 years of public service.

“I have always stood for transparency. We encourage whistleblowing and support the ICPC’s investigations,” he said.

Bugaje also addressed the suspension of four deputy directors for corruption, including financial misconduct and sexual harassment.

“We must sanitise the NBTE and ensure our accreditation process is transparent and sincere. We recalled the suspended directors after six months, posting them to departments outside accreditation,” he explained.

He noted that the NBTE has introduced digital accreditation to reduce costs, increase transparency, and promote blended learning.

“We are determined to keep marching on the path of technology, despite resistance from some quarters,” Bugaje concluded.