By Idibia Gabriel, Kaduna
A fresh scandal is rocking the Kaduna Polytechnic.
On the heels of the subsisting allegation of land grabbing on the institution’s Bypass-By-Television Village site by outsiders believed to be fronting for some staff of the federal polytechnic, the school is now gripped by a bids controversy over its move to lease out the school’s hotels for five years to qualified operators.
The reported rejection of a particular highest bidder’s proposal has sparked outrage and suspicion in governance accountability and transparency circles in the Northern political capital.
Worse still, no genuine reason was given for the rejection even as the school authorities preferred to keep mum on the matter when our reporter sought their angle on the vexed issue.
Authorities of the polytechnic had recently placed advertisements inviting prospective companies to lease and operate Kadpoly Hotels, setting out certain specifications and requirements, mainly financial and technical.
A firm, Messrs Trophy Hotels Ltd, with head office located on Gwari Avenue, Barnawa GRA, Kaduna city, was among nine firms that responded to the advertisements and duly submitted proposals.
Reports claimed that after consideration of the various bids submitted by the firms, it emerged that Trophy Hotels Ltd was the highest bidder.
People&Politics learned that its bid of N191,343,600 million topped others; this was reportedly followed by Detitorye Enterprise and Hotel 17, with N96 million and N26 million bids, respectively.
However, documents obtained from Kadpoly, dated 16 December 2025, and titled: ‘Letter of debriefing for opening of technical and financial proposals for lease of Kadpoly Hotels’, rather stated that the lease had been given to a successful bidder whose identity was not disclosed by the school authorities.
The documents, with reference no. KPT/STDB/PROC/CA/LEASE/PRE.Q/2025/VOL.1/9, and letterhead inscriptions ‘Kaduna Polytechnic, Office of the Rector’, signed by Director, Procurement, Engr. Lawal Sani, and addressed to the Managing Director, Trophy Hotels, informed the latter that a subcommittee of the school’s technical board had evaluated all bids and concluded that Trophy was “not a responsive bidder.”
Additionally, the polytechnic informed the hotel that the lease had subsequently been “given to successful bidder.”
It read in part: “Following participation of your company in the technical and financial proposals opening for the lease of Kadpoly Hotels on Wednesday 3rd December 2025, at the Council’s chamber, Federal Polytechnic Kaduna, and the bids evaluation by sub-committee of technical board, I am pleased to inform you that your company Messrs. Trophy Hotels Ltd is not a responsive bidder and the lease given to successful bidder.”
Earlier, Trophy Hotels Ltd, in a letter dated 28 November 2025, had stated that it met the eligibility criteria in its submission for the process as set out in the advertisement and was therefore pre-qualified for participation in the proposal’s bid opening, scheduled for Wednesday 3 December, 2025.
In the letter, the hotel defended its overall capacity and competency, stating that it submitted technical and financial proposals, in envelope as requested, adding that tender documents collected by every pre-qualified company at the Procurement Director’s Secretary’s office at the polytechnic’s Tudun main campus, was with evidence of payment of a non-refundable fee of N10,000.00, in favour of the polytechnic’s Remita account.
Contacted, spokesman of Kadpoly, Mr. Godwin Ayegba, did not respond to posers fired at him on the matter, even though he reacted to initial pleasantries embedded in our message post.
In response to our message, he answered thus: “Thanks my brother. How your family too?”, but did not respond to the crucial aspect pertaining to the bids matter or the earlier, alleged land grabbing controversy.
The seeming stance of the polytechnic has raised concerns among pro-good corporate governance activists and others who strongly suspect underhand dealings in the hotel not being chosen, being the highest bidder.
Their suspicion, they added, is heightened by the action of the polytechnic authorities in not disclosing the identity and address of the said successful bidder.
Trophy Hotels is riled that the school authorities claimed that it was “not a responsive bidder,” describing the statement as defamatory.
Trophy Hotels statement on the raging matter read: “The last letter served on Trophy Hotels did not disclose any reason why, as the highest bidder, the Hotel was not chosen. The said letter is defamatory as it states that Trophy Hotel is not a responsive bidder.
“The letter did not state the details of the bidder that emerged and the reason for the choice of the said bidder. Federal Polytechnic Kaduna is a public institution guided by Public Procurement Act. When it comes to such transactions, the process must be seemingly transparent.”
Sources within the school, however, told People&Politics on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the press, that a huge factor in sidelining Trophy Hotels could be the authorities’ suspicion that it could introduce alcohol consumption into the Kadpoly Hotels premises –a proviso not inserted in the bid advertisements.
The polytechnic was established in 1956 as Kaduna Technical Institute after the British colonial Government accepted the upgrading of Yaba Higher College (now Yaba College of Technology) to a technical institute and also proposed the establishment of technical institutes in Kaduna and Enugu through the recommendation of the Higher Education Commission.
Kaduna Polytechnic offers National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) courses at the undergraduate level.
