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Executive Secretary, NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje
The National Board for Technical Education has denied reports that its Executive Secretary, Prof Idris Bugaje, is under investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
In a statement issued by the Head of Media Unit, Office of the Executive Secretary, Mrs. Fatima Abubakar, in Kaduna on Thursday, the NBTE described the report as “orchestrated by some staff of the NBTE who were being investigated for unwholesome practices and corruption.”
The NBTE also clarified its accreditation process, which involved cash advances to staff for physical accreditation.
“Our attention has been drawn to an online publication titled ‘NBTE Executive Secretary under fire over multimillion Naira fraud allegation’ published by an online medium on February 10, 2025. We wish to state categorically that the Executive Secretary is not under any investigation by ICPC.
“Since the creation of NBTE in 1977, physical accreditation had been done through cash advances to staff, who in turn pay resource persons air tickets, honoraria, etc. and at the end make retirements which were audited,” the statement explained.
The Board also denied any violation of financial regulations, stating that “there were no violations of financial regulations. Whatever institutions pay, there are other components that are not cash advanced such as copies of curricula, NBTE Journals, service charges, inspectorate surcharge, etc.”
On the issue of NBTE Consult Ltd, the Board stated that “it was an innovation introduced by the ES when he assumed office in 2021. The company was duly registered by CAC to carry out training and consultancy services to generate income for the NBTE.”
The NBTE also denied having “luxury cars” to sell, stating that “the ES inherited accident vehicles and had to borrow a car from Kaduna Polytechnic till year end when he managed to buy 12 brand new vehicles from our capital budget.”
“The campaign of calumny by this director and his cohorts has been going on for about a year now using various print and online media, having exhausted his petitioning campaign. The Board shall not be diverted, shall remain focused and shall not relent in ensuring transparency in our operations,” the statement concluded.
