By Secrets Reporters
A quiet storm is brewing at the Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, in Akwa Ibom State, where newly obtained documents reveal a staggering web of financial mismanagement totaling ₦737,910,575.23 across thirteen separate findings for the 2023 financial year a period that fell squarely under the watch of Rector Mercy Daniel Ebong.
The Documents reviewed by this platform reveal a troubling pattern in the handling of public resources at the institution. Among the most concerning findings is ₦21.6 million linked to the reported irregular conversion of an official government vehicle for personal use. To many Nigerians, ₦21.6 million represents years of work, sacrifice and livelihood. The vehicle, purchased with public resources, was intended to serve the wider polytechnic community, raising serious concerns over how government assets were used and managed.
The findings do not stop there. A whopping ₦261,572,191.00 was paid out for contracts with no evidence that any work was ever done. Another ₦102,320,917.02 was tied to irregular payments described as contingencies, a term that, in this context, appears to have served as a catch-all for questionable spending. A further ₦99,836,930.00 went into ICT equipment without the mandatory clearance from the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), while ₦91,204,161.00 was linked to the irregular award and execution of a contract.
The institution also flouted the Federal Government’s e-payment policy to the tune of ₦42,628,125.41. Statutory taxes amounting to ₦27,817,469.50 were neither deducted nor remitted money that should have flowed into public coffers but instead vanished into the shadows of poor accountability. A contract worth ₦23,632,445.60 was paid for but never fully executed, and ₦21,248,460.00 was dished out as irregular Duty Tour Allowance to a former principal officer of the Polytechnic.
Other findings include ₦20,479,428.00 in extra-budgetary expenditure, ₦19,314,696.58 in unjustified payments for contingencies and preliminary expenses, ₦5,205,751.12 in 1% stamp duty that was irregularly paid into a contractor’s account, and ₦1,050,000.00 for the purchase of an ICAN stamp a payment that, on its face, raises more questions than answers.
But the troubles at Ukana go beyond the 2023 financial year. Separately, the Polytechnic failed to submit its financial statements for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 a period spanning the tail end of previous leadership and into the tenure of Mercy Daniel Ebong, who was appointed Rector in 2023. The absence of these statements means that for four straight years, there was no clear, documented account of how public funds were managed at the institution.
The findings invoke Paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations 2009, which covers irregular payments, alongside specific provisions on e-payment compliance, NITDA clearance, and the conversion of government assets to personal use. Those familiar with the regulations say the recommendations are clear: the current Rector must account for each sum before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, recover and remit the amounts to the Treasury, and submit the four years of outstanding financial statements.
Mrs. Eduma Enobong Essien, who has served as Rector since 2025, currently leads the institution. While the bulk of the 2023 findings occurred under Mercy Daniel Ebong’s administration, the unresolved issues particularly the missing financial statements now sit on Mrs. Essien’s desk.
