By; SAMSON YAKI, Lafia
Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State has received the report of the fact-finding and investigation committee on the activities of the three state-owned tertiary institutions in the state.
Governor Almakura, while receiving the report at the Government House Lafia, commended efforts of the committee which was constituted by the state Government in November 2017 to look into activities of three(3) state owned tertiary institutions namely College of Education Akwanga, College of Agriculture Lafia and the Nasarawa State Polytechnic Lafia.
He said that never before had the state had such a robust, versatile committee look into the affairs of the tertiary institutions.
He commended the template used to carry out the exercise in deploying their experience , sense of objectivity and global best practices in regard to investigations, describing them as not only reliable but highly dependable.
The Governor assured that Government would careful study the report with a view to do the needful, saying that no stone would be left unturned in ensuring that justice is done, and all the violations , all the sabotages and damages done to the state economy would not be left unchecked.
He added that government would soon act on the report and where there are recommendations for sabotage to the system, government would take the appropriate measures; advising all that were involved in any fraudulent act to start making ways to refund what was owed to the state.
The number one man of the state pledged continued support and commitment towards the higher institutions as the apex of the educational endeavours to ensure national standards are met.
Earlier, the Chairperson of the committee Hajiya Fati J. Sabo expressed dismayed by the incompetence and lack of professionalism by both the Governing Council and the Management in handling the affairs of the Polytechnic .
Sabo further said they observed the absence of direction during critical periods that decisive action was required, deliberate refusal to maintain vital accounting books and a clear lack of transparency.
She said some of the recommendations made in the report which included amending the Polytechnic Law 2001 to properly define the roles of stakeholders of the institution, and the refunds that should be made to the state government.
Commending the Government for setting up the committee, hajiya Sabo stated that the findings and recommendations of the report would go a long way towards assisting the government towards taking informed decisions that would lead to providing quality education to generations yet unborn.
