Chairman of the Governing Council of Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State, Emmanuel Jakada has bought a new Toyota Prado V6 2020 Model for himself, investigation by InsightMedia has revealed.
The official vehicle, which was bought at a sum of N47.8m and was paid for by the Polytechnic in January 2022, according to documents sighted by our correspondent.
InsightMedia gathered that the vehicle has not been sighted on campus since it was taken away days after it was delivered on campus by the Supplier – Umarana Motors Limited.
Sources told our correspondent that instead of using the vehicle when he comes around for the quarterly meeting, Jakada has been incurring more expenses by demanding for other vehicles to be fuelled and brought to airports upon his arrival.
What does the law say?
Chapter 16, section 2, sub-section 2 of the the Public Service Rule, says that “No part time member of the Board shall be allowed to retain official vehicle for the use on a permanent basis.”
This provision was echoed by the immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha during the inauguration of the Council on May 19, 2021.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Mustapha, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services in the office ot the SGF, Maurice Mbaeri as saying, “Statutory board councils shall set operational and administrative policies in accordance with government policy directives and shall supervise the implementation of such policies.
“No part time member of the Board shall be allowed to retain official vehicle for the use on a permanent basis. The board shall promote sustainable and cost-efficient activities of the organization.”
InsightMedia gathered that the attention of the Council Chairman has been drawn to this provision during a Council meeting, but he ignored.
Sources within the campus also revealed that the first four Chairmen of the Council neither used permanent vehicles nor took away any official cars while leaving.
Controversial sales of vehicle to Jakada’s predecessor
Following his interrogation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), the immediate past and fifth Chairman of Federal Polytechnic Ede Governing Council, Nasir Musa Yauri returned some amount of money to the ICPC while he also returned the N20m Peugeot 508 car in his custody.
However, the 6th Council during a meeting presided over by Jakada approved the sales of the car to Yauri for a paltry sum of N500,000.
When contacted, Mr Jakada said he’s unaware of the development. He directed this reporter to the management for clarification.
The Public Relations Officer of the Institution, Sola Lawal described the allegations as unfounded and attempt by some elements to drag the school back. He however did not specifically answer questions on purchase of the vehicle.
“To the best of my knowledge, it’s baseless. It’s unfounded. It’s something with no atom of truth. That allegation is part of the fallacy that people are just using to derail us. But we won’t be derailed.” Lawal said.
