The tension further heightened in the Board over a circulating AI-generated picture of Dr Alausa presenting a letter of reappointment said to Prof Bugaje, purported to have been granted by President Tinubu.
There is growing tension at the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Kaduna State, over the purported two weeks’ extension of the tenure of the Executive Secretary, Prof Idris Bugaje which officially expired on March 14, 2026, SaharaReporters has learnt.
SaharaReporters gathered from sources at the Federal Ministry of Education that the extension said to have been granted by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa put the agency on edge with staff wondering where the minister derived such powers, which is an exclusive prerogative of the President, Bola Tinubu.
The tension further heightened in the Board over a circulating AI-generated picture of Dr Alausa presenting a letter of reappointment said to Prof Bugaje, purported to have been granted by President Tinubu.
Meanwhile, the letter of extension from the Executive Secretary’s office dated 16th March, 2026 and addressed to all staff of the Board quoted a correspondence from the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, dated 13th March 2026.
“This is to inform all staff of NBTE that the Minister of Education has submitted a memo for the second term of Prof Idris Bugaje as the Executive Secretary of the Board,” the Special Assistant, Prof Diya’uddeen Basheer Hasan to the Executive Secretary said in the internal memo.
He pointed out that the Minister has also given extension to the Executive Secretary.
“As we await the approval of Mr. President, the Minister has also given exrension to the Executive Secretary as conveyed in a letter the Permanent Secretary with reference number FNE/S.75/IV/415 dated 13th March 2026,” it added.
The internal memo then thanked the staff for their continuous commitment.
While staff were questioning the rationale behind the purported two weeks extension, the purported picture of Prof Bugaje receiving letter of renewal of appointment by Mr President surfaced, leaving many wondering if Prof Bugaje is out to arm-twist the Tinubu government into renewing his tenure.
“We are truly taken aback by the Hon Minister’s extension of Bugaje tenure. There is nothing on ground in the Board to warrant extension, not to talk of renewal of Bugaje’s term. He rendered over 90 per cent of staff of the Board redundant. Quality assurance function of the Board has been outsourced to vendors while he keeps on recruiting new, backdoor staff,” a staff lamented.
SaharaReporters learnt that there is tension among staff as many are praying that Prof Bugaje is not given renewal and “a fresh hand is appointed to undo the damage caused to the Board.”
“NBTE is the only regulatory agency whose mandate has been outsourced to vendors, some of them construction companies or health providers without any experience in quality assurance.
“The other regulatory agencies such as NUC and NCCE all undertake their quality assurance activities as provided for in their enabling laws,” a staff who spoke on condition anonymity said.
According to another staff, “the Executive Secretary claims that the Board has gone digital yet he keeps on recruiting new staff without adhering to due process. To date, he has recruited more that 150 staff but no one has ever seen vacancy adverts unlike other government agencies.”
The staff added that the ES keeps on recruiting and till date, he has added 50 percent of the number of staff he met on ground and continues to suppress career of those he met.
“We are appealing to the Hon Minister to as a matter of urgency, ensure that a competent person is appointed to head the Board to stop Bugaje from running down NBTE,” another staff appealed.
The NBTE is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing technical and vocational education in Nigeria, including polytechnics, monotechnics, and technical colleges.
Prof. Idris Bugaje was appointed Executive Secretary of the NBTE in 2021 for a single term of five years, in line with extant regulations guiding appointments into such positions.
His tenure, which officially ended on March 14, 2026, has been marked by a series of criticisms from within the agency, particularly over allegations of outsourcing core regulatory functions and concerns about recruitment practices.
Some staff members have repeatedly raised issues about transparency, due process, and what they describe as the marginalisation of experienced personnel within the system.
