Officials of Kwara State Polytechnic in Ilorin are taking bribes in exchange for helping businessmen win contracts at the institution, an Informant247 investigation has revealed.
In October 2023, The Informant247 published a report revealing how the institution’s Rector, Engr. Abdul Jimoh Muhammed commissioned shoddy and unfinished projects despite millions allocated for them.
However, this new investigation uncovered evidence of how the polytechnic staff are demanding bribes of up to 50 percent of contract values, according to multiple interviews with contractors, exclusive voice recordings, and transaction receipts.
In return, they help contractors navigate the institution’s complex bidding system and ensure they pass the project vetting process once completed.
“Nobody can get a contract without paying. There’s nothing you can get here without paying; that’s the extent of the corruption. They sometimes even take 70% of the contract sum,” said one contractor, who told The Informant247 they had been approached by polytechnic staff demanding bribes.
‘The kickback scheme’
In September 2023, the management of the polytechnic awarded a contract to one Moshood Olarewaju Sulaiman. The contract involved the production of 600 pieces of bedsheets at a cost of N1.5 million.
Olarewaju said he was able to secure the contract after agreeing to pay about 20% of the contract sum to a family member and personal assistant to the Rector, AbdulRasheed Lekan, through a staff member of the Polytechnic, Umar Dasuki.
On September 4, 2023, Olarewaju received N1,583,400.00 in his United Bank for Africa (UBA) account from the school for the contract.
“I got the contract through Dasuki. He facilitated the deal. The agreement I had with them (Dasuki and the Rector’s PA) was that I would pay them 30% of each bedsheet’s cost. Each was priced at N2,900,” he told The Informant247.
“Before I received the money, Lekan (the Rector’s brother and PA) called to confirm if I had received the payment. I said No, and then he asked me to resend another account, claiming the one I provided might have had an issue. Eventually, the money dropped in my account.
“Immediately I received the money, Dasuki, who, according to him, was serving as a front for the PA, called me and asked for my whereabouts. He informed me that the money had been sent. He asked that we meet at the UBA Challenge branch,” the contractor said.
It was after they met, The Informant247 gathered, that Dasuki told the contractor that the PA had instructed them to produce only 400 pieces instead of the 600 approved pieces and that the money for the remaining 200 should be added to the earlier negotiated kickback percentage.
He continued, “The total now amounted to N700,000.00. He asked me to withdraw and give him cash, but I couldn’t because I can’t make a withdrawal above N500,000.00. So, I withdrew N500,000.00 and immediately sent the balance of N200,000.00 to his personal account.”
The contractor said all his pleas that the remaining N800,000.00 wouldn’t be enough fell on deaf ears.
“I initially said I didn’t want trouble that I would try to use the remaining money to produce all 600 bedsheets. But when I went to the market and discovered that wouldn’t be feasible, I called Dasuki back to inform him that it wouldn’t be the case anymore and that I would only produce the 400,” he said.
‘More evidence’
To corroborate this, The Informant247 exclusively obtained several phone call recordings between Dasuki and the contractor.
In one of the recordings, the contractor agreed to produce 400 out of the 600 pieces of bedsheets. He said that since Dasuki had already collected N700,000.00 for the Rector’s PA, there was no need to complete the project. This was agreed upon by Dasuki.
“When are you going to send my share to me?” Dasuki was heard saying in the recording, to which the contractor replied, “I will do that as soon as I get all the materials from the market.”
In another recording obtained by The Informant247, after the 400 pieces had been produced, the contractor was unable to deliver the project, sensing he couldn’t defend it as the 600 approved. He phoned Dasuki again.
“I think you should tell the PA to meet the Director and inform him that we’re doing just 400 pieces before he reports,” the contractor told Dasuki. In reply, Dasuki reassured him not to worry, saying that nothing would happen. He further instructed the contractor to tell anyone who questioned him that the PA was involved. “Nobody can challenge you. If anyone challenges you, just direct them to the PA.”
Students at the receiving end; lament the condition of the hostel, lack of beds
Many students, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimization by the school authorities, said the state of their hostel is appalling.
“They’ll give you a bed in the hostel, but you’re better off bringing your own bed because the hostel beds are in poor condition,” one student told The Informant247.
“Despite paying for hostel space, we still have to bring our own beds. The ones here are not worth using. Whenever we complain, they don’t respond,” said another student.
‘I’m not directly involved; project not fully delivered’: Former Director
When contacted for comment, a former Director at the institution’s student affairs unit, Bolakale Ajadi, admitted the project wasn’t fully delivered.
“I was not directly involved in the awarding of contracts or anything like that. My job was to distribute what was delivered to us. It was one of my officers who did the counting. I asked her, and she said it wasn’t complete, so I told her to keep pressuring the contractor to deliver the remainder,” he said.
Asked why he signed off on the project as complete when he was aware it wasn’t, he denied doing so, saying he never signed off on it as completed.
He quickly added, “What I know is that the amount approved was between Dasuki and Lekan (the PA)… they are the ones who compromised the contractor. My job is just to recommend what we need, which was done.
“As a director, I don’t have direct contact with the money. The contractor was there and carried out the project. When we asked for the remaining balance, he said he was working on the bedsheets and promised to deliver them. Meanwhile, it was Dasuki and the other person who were dealing with them. It’s not my business. But the actual amount that goes to the bursary doesn’t come back to my office or my table.
“My role is to recommend. The contractor informed me that 600 bedsheets were approved, 400 were produced, and the remaining 200 would come. But by the time I left the office, the remaining 200 hadn’t been delivered.”
When asked further about whether he approved the number of bedsheets delivered to him, he said, “The approval is usually given by my boss, the Rector. When the approval is given, the auditors come and say, ‘This is the total we’re expecting.’ I don’t know the amount that was released to the contractor.”
Nigeria’s law on bribery, kickbacks
In Nigeria, bribery and kickbacks about public projects and contracts are prohibited under several laws, including the Criminal Code Act, ICPC Act, and Public Procurement Act. These laws criminalize the act of offering or receiving bribes or any form of gratification to influence official actions, with penalties that include imprisonment and fines.
In Kwara, the state’s Public Procurement Law, specifically prohibits bribery and kickbacks in project procurement processes.
Rector’s PA, Dasuki deny involvement despite evidence
When contacted for comment, both the PA and Dasuki denied ever receiving any money or negotiating with the contractor. This is despite verified audio recordings and transaction receipts.
Dasuki, who told our correspondent he is not a staff member of the Polytechnic but a politician who facilitates projects for people, denied ever receiving funds from the contractor.
For the PA, he confirmed that Dasuki is a staff member of the Polytechnic but denied being involved in any deals with him.
This report was published with support and funding from Civic Media Lab
