The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has threatened to issue arrest warrants against the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Sani Man Yahaya, and the institution’s Bursar, Aishat Shade Adebayo, over unresolved audit queries and alleged financial irregularities.

The committee gave the officials until Monday, October 19, 2026, to appear before it and explain outstanding concerns involving procurement, budget expenditure and project execution.

Its chairman, Bamidele Salam, announced the decision on Friday after lawmakers adopted a technical committee’s report on submissions from six tertiary institutions responding to audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.

The action followed unresolved issues in the polytechnic’s 2021 Audit Report, findings from the committee’s South-West oversight exercise and petitions against the institution’s management.

Salam expressed displeasure over the repeated failure of the rector and bursar to honour invitations, warning that the House would use its constitutional powers to compel their attendance if they failed to appear on Monday.

The committee said the officials must answer questions on the outstanding audit queries, explain alleged financial breaches and provide documents needed for its investigations.

Beyond the audit concerns, lawmakers raised questions about the quality of projects executed at the institution, following an inspection that allegedly exposed poor workmanship and discrepancies between payments and work delivered.

During a physical inspection of an ongoing lecture theatre project at the polytechnic’s permanent site, the committee observed what it described as substandard construction.

The inspection team found that the concrete flooring leading to the entrance was poorly executed. According to the committee, the concrete was so weak that inspectors could break it with their hands and feet.

The findings prompted further questions about whether the contractor delivered work commensurate with the funds already paid.

The committee consequently requested the project’s Bill of Quantities, procurement records and the contractor’s details for further examination. However, the institution failed to provide the requested documents.

Lawmakers also faulted the management for withholding procurement records relating to capital expenditure and projects funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), despite repeated requests.

They described the failure to produce the documents as an obstacle to legislative oversight and accountability.

The committee further identified three outstanding queries in the institution’s 2021 Audit Report.

These concerned an unretired cash advance, the engagement of an external solicitor without the approval of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and foreign trips undertaken without evidence of approval from the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

It also criticised the institution for submitting its audited accounts for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 financial years late, contrary to existing regulations and statutory requirements.

Financial records examined during the South-West oversight exercise revealed a substantial gap between the polytechnic’s approved overhead budget and actual expenditure in 2023.

While the institution budgeted N110.2 million for overhead costs, its audited accounts showed that it spent N882.5 million, exceeding the allocation by approximately N772 million.

The committee also questioned a difference of about N268.5 million between the approved personnel budget and actual expenditure for the same year.

The institution budgeted N2.862 billion for personnel costs but spent N2.593 billion. The committee said the variance raised questions about the adequacy of the due diligence applied when preparing its budget estimates.

Another concern involved the absence of evidence that the polytechnic remitted the mandatory one per cent of personnel emoluments to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund for the period covering 2023 to 2025.

The committee also raised concerns about N20.5 million reportedly yet to reach the Retirement Savings Accounts of some employees through Stanbic IBTC Pension and Access Pension.

According to its findings, the delay stemmed from the institution’s failure to provide accurate employee details, including Retirement Savings Account Personal Identification Numbers, to the pension fund administrators.

The committee warned that the affected workers could lose interest and investment returns that would have accrued if the contributions had reached their accounts promptly.

It also disclosed that petitions alleging various financial irregularities had reached the committee and would be examined alongside the audit findings and other relevant records.

Salam reaffirmed the committee’s determination to enforce transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.

He stressed that public institutions must account for their expenditure, submit requested records and respond to audit queries raised by authorised agencies.

The committee warned that it would not overlook repeated failures by public officials to honour invitations or provide documents required for legislative investigations.

It maintained that the House’s powers would be invoked to compel the attendance of the rector, bursar and other relevant officials if they failed to appear on Monday.