FACT-CHECK: Documents show Fintiri visitation panel lied against Prof. Ibrahim Gombi, State Polytechnic Rector in the unremitted 66 million naira contract claim

The claim by the visitation panel setup by Gov. Fintiri of Adamawa state that the Rector state polytechnic, Yola, Prof. Ibrahim Gombi led management of the Polytechnic fails to pay a company allegedly linked to Adamawa state governor after completion of a project in Numan campus of the institution is false, an investigation by THE FINDER NEWSPAPER has shown.

Also untrue, our findings show, is the visitation panel claim that the Rector mismanaged IGR generated by the intuition and that IGR has dwindled under the current leadership of Prof. Ibrahim led management of the Polytechnic.

In the visitation panel controversial August 2019 report to Gov. Fintiri, Prof. Saidu Babashago led panel had, among other allegations, accused Mr. Ibrahim led management of failing to pay the company allegedly link to Adamawa state governor the remaining balance of 66 million after the completion of the project located in Numan campus of the institution.

But in a curious move, the alleged company fails to complete the project as stipulated by TETFUND guideline but waiting to get the balance of 66 million naira.

Inquiry by THE FINDER on why the balance of the 66 million could not be paid by the visitation panel, one of the panel member confided in this news medium that “we went to see the project in Numan and we discovered that the contractor is yet to finish the project and that project is yet to be handed over to the Polytechnic and we also understand the project must be completed and receive by the Polytechnic, then the Rector write to inform

 

TETFUND of the remaining balance of the contractor to be paid to them, this is the right procedure, there is no way one can accused the management of the institution of sitting on the balance of payment when TETFUND is yet to release it. “What we wrote to the governor about mismanagement of funds in the Polytechnic predate the tenure of the current Rector of the institution and he was appointed only a year ago and our report covers from 2015 till 2018.

“As panel member we discovered that the project in Numan was awarded in 2014 when Gov. Fintiri was the acting governor, immediately he was removed from office the project stop for some time, we also understand that the cost of the project is about 400 million naira, the company was paid 99 million as second trench of the payment, the remaining 66 million was not paid because the company is yet to fix air conditioners in the building as agreed.

“As for the IGR of the institution we discovered that Prof. Ibrahim Gombi did not meet the payments of 2018 school fee, he only superintend over that of 2019 school fees, so there is not part of the report that indicted the current Rector, but our report is only an advise if the governor want he can either implement the report or investigate all our investigation, the source was quoted to have told this news medium.

But THE FINDER can report authoritatively today that Prof. Saidu Babashago was economical with the truth as far as this particular contract is concerned.

The remaining payment of the contract sum was neither collected by the management of the polytechnic, as the TETFUND is yet to make the final payment due to the non-completion of the project started in 2014 under the watch of Gov. Fintiri.

In Visitation panel report to Fintiri, sighted by this newspaper, Prof. Babanshago, contrary to what he submitted to the governor, did not indicate anywhere that the Rector, Prof Ibrahim Gombi has engaged in any wrong doing to warrant his removal from office to pave way for sole administrator.