NBTE Executive Secretary Not Under ICPC Investigation
The management of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has refuted claims that its Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje, is under investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), dismissing such reports as false.
The Board issued this clarification in response to a publication titled “NBTE Executive Secretary under fire over multimillion Naira fraud allegation,” which was published on February 10, 2025. In a statement released by the NBTE’s Head of Media Unit, Mrs. Fatima Abubakar, the Board labeled the allegations as misleading and confirmed that Prof. Bugaje was not under any investigation by the ICPC.
Mrs. Abubakar accused some staff members of the Board, who were reportedly under investigation for alleged corrupt practices, of being behind the misleading publication. “Let it be stated clearly that the Executive Secretary is not under any investigation by ICPC,” she stated.
Providing context, Mrs. Abubakar explained that the allegations stemmed from petitions by Lawal Hafiz, the then-suspended Director of NBTE, who, along with collaborators, accused the Board of mismanaging funds meant for accreditation purposes. She clarified that these allegations had been addressed in communications with the Hon. Minister of Education and other government agencies.
She further explained the process of accreditation, revealing that since the establishment of NBTE in 1977, physical accreditation involved cash advances to staff, who in turn paid resource persons’ airfares, honoraria, and other costs, with subsequent audits to retire the advances. However, with the introduction of digital accreditation in early 2024, these cash advances were eliminated, though a window for physical accreditation would remain open until March 2025.
Addressing the specific issue of Ramat Polytechnic, which hosted 101 external resource persons in 2024, Mrs. Abubakar clarified that the payment of ₦30 million for these resource persons was an average of ₦300,000 per person, which was reasonable given the costs associated with air travel and other expenses. She also emphasized that institutions paid higher amounts than the cash advances to cover additional components, such as curricula, service charges, and inspectorate surcharges.
Regarding the NBTE Consult Ltd, a private-sector firm established by Prof. Bugaje in 2021, Mrs. Abubakar confirmed that it was legally registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and was created to generate income for the Board through training and consultancy services. She also addressed rumors about the sale of “luxury cars,” stating that Prof. Bugaje inherited only old, damaged vehicles upon assuming office and had to borrow a car from Kaduna Polytechnic until he secured new vehicles using the Board’s capital budget.
Mrs. Abubakar concluded by denouncing the ongoing smear campaign led by Hafiz and his associates, which had been using both print and online media to spread false allegations. She assured the public that the NBTE would remain focused on its mission and continue to prioritize transparency, leveraging technology to improve its operations and advance Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Nigeria.
