The Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Polytechnics and Other Higher Technical Education has raised concerns about the recently established Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, in Cross River State, which currently serves just 142 students despite having approximately 154 academic and non-academic staff members.
During an oversight visit, the Committee learned that the Polytechnic has incurred around N600 million in personnel and overhead expenses, with an additional N38 million earmarked for local travel. The visit included the Rector of the Polytechnic, Professor Edward N. Okey, and other members of the institution’s management.
The Committee, led by Chairman Fouad Laguda (APC, Lagos), is conducting an ongoing review of various Federal Polytechnics and technical institutions across the South-South region. Institutions summoned for scrutiny included Federal Polytechnic, Orogun; Federal Polytechnic, Oil & Gas, Bonny; Federal Polytechnic, Auchi; Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe; Federal Polytechnic, Ukana; and the National Institute of Construction Technology Management, Uromi.
Laguda expressed frustration over the substantial expenditure for such a small student body, particularly for an institution established in 2021. In response, Professor Okey explained that the Polytechnic utilized a N2 billion take-off grant to refurbish the Ugep Community Secondary School, which serves as a temporary campus while new facilities are being constructed at the Institute of Technology Management (ITM), which the Polytechnic has since adopted as its permanent location.
“Our institution was founded in 2021, and we initially aimed to operate from a temporary site within the state Polytechnic known as the Institute of Technology and Management (ITM). However, we faced challenges in establishing the school there,” Okey said.
He detailed the difficulties in finding a temporary location for the school, noting that it took over a year to secure a suitable facility due to the limited size of Ugep. Despite these challenges, the Polytechnic has initiated around ten projects at its permanent site, though attracting students and staff has been hindered by historical stigmas associated with the town.
“We started with 16 students and have since enrolled an additional 63, bringing our total to 79. We have now reached 142 students by absorbing those from ITM,” Okey stated, emphasizing that their growth surpasses that of other institutions that began operations over a decade ago.
Chairman Laguda concluded the session by expressing the Committee’s disappointment regarding the inadequate performance and presentation from the institutions under review.
