The House of Representatives has threatened arrest warrants against the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Sani Man Yahaya, and the institution’s Bursar, Aishat Shade Adebayo, if they fail to appear before lawmakers on Monday to answer questions over a ₦772 million spending discrepancy, alleged procurement irregularities and concerns about the quality of construction projects.

The House Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the officials to appear on October 19, 2026, following unresolved audit queries and repeated failures to honour previous invitations. The panel said it would invoke the relevant powers of the House to compel their attendance if they failed to comply.

At the centre of the investigation is the polytechnic’s 2023 overhead expenditure, which lawmakers said reached ₦882.5 million against an approved budget of ₦110.2 million, leaving a difference of approximately ₦772 million.

The figures were among the issues raised during the committee’s South-West oversight exercise and its review of the institution’s outstanding audit queries.

Committee chairman Bamidele Salam announced the decision after the panel adopted a technical committee report examining submissions from six tertiary institutions responding to audit queries issued by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.

The investigation also draws on unresolved matters in the polytechnic’s 2021 audit report and petitions received against its management.

The committee’s scrutiny extended beyond the financial records to an ongoing lecture theatre construction project at the institution’s permanent site.

During an inspection, lawmakers reportedly found that the concrete flooring leading to the lecture theatre entrance was poorly executed and could be broken with hands and feet.

The observation raised questions about the quality of work delivered and whether it corresponded with the amount paid to the contractor.

The committee subsequently requested the project’s Bill of Quantities, procurement records and details of the contractor responsible for the construction. It said the requested documents had not been provided.

Lawmakers also expressed concern over the institution’s failure to produce procurement records covering capital expenditure and projects funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), despite repeated requests.

The panel said the absence of these records had hindered its efforts to examine procurement decisions and assess the use of public funds.

The committee identified three outstanding queries in the institution’s 2021 audit report.

They concern an unretired cash advance, the engagement of an external solicitor without approval from the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and foreign trips for which evidence of authorisation by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation was reportedly unavailable.

The panel also questioned the late submission of the polytechnic’s audited financial statements for 2022, 2023 and 2024, saying the delays contravened applicable financial reporting requirements.

Another issue involved a difference of approximately ₦268.5 million between the institution’s approved personnel budget and actual expenditure in 2023.

Records presented to the committee showed that ₦2.862 billion was approved for personnel costs, while actual spending stood at ₦2.593 billion.

The lawmakers said the variance raised questions about the due diligence applied when preparing the institution’s budget estimates.

The committee also raised concerns over ₦20.5 million reportedly yet to be credited to the Retirement Savings Accounts of some employees through Stanbic IBTC Pension and Access Pension.

According to the panel’s findings, the delay was linked to the alleged failure to provide the pension fund administrators with accurate employee information, including Retirement Savings Account personal identification numbers.

The committee warned that affected workers could lose interest and other investment returns while the contributions remained uncredited.

It also questioned the absence of documentary evidence showing that the institution had remitted the mandatory one per cent of personnel emoluments to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund between 2023 and 2025.

The committee said petitions alleging financial misconduct against the institution’s management would be examined alongside the audit findings and other available evidence.

Salam reiterated that public institutions must account for their expenditure, provide requested financial and procurement documents, and respond to audit queries raised by authorised agencies.

The rector, bursar and other officials concerned are expected to address the outstanding issues at Monday’s hearing, where lawmakers will seek explanations and records to advance the investigation.