EXCLUSIVE: Pension Fraud, TETFUND Diversion, and Tax Embezzlement Rock Delta State Polytechnic Otefe-Oghara as Rector and Top Officials Accused of Looting Over ₦1 Billion

…. It’s the handwork of disgruntled staff, claims rector
Secrets Reporters

Top management officials of the Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara, including the Rector, Registrar, Bursar, and key Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Desk Officers, have been accused of orchestrating a massive fraud involving the diversion of staff pension contributions, TETFUND scholarship and conference funds, Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax deductions, National Housing Fund (NHF), and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) deductions, with losses running into over one billion naira.

PAYE is a system of tax deduction in Nigeria where income tax is withheld directly from an employee’s salary or wages by the employer (in this case, the Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara) before the net pay is given to the staff.

Documents exclusively obtained by SecretsReporters revealed that a detailed whistleblower petition was delivered to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) office in Asaba on January 20, 2026, via DHL Express. The petition, dated January 19, 2026, directly names Rector Prof. Emmanuel Ufuophu-Biri, Registrar Mr. Efedi Chukwuemeke, Bursar Mr. Omokaro Sunday, Internal Auditor Mr. Kelvin Okotete, TETFUND Desk Officer Dr. Ferdinand Okoro, immediate past TETFUND Desk Officer Dr. Nana Joseph, and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) Chapter Chairman Dr. Henry Obeh as key actors in the alleged scheme.

The whistleblower, who described the situation as causing “bitter pains” for over 600 permanent staff, alleged that since Prof. Ufuophu-Biri assumed office on March 27, 2023, no pension deductions have been remitted to staff accounts with PAL Pension, Stanbic, Leadway, and other administrators. Delta State Government pays full salaries, including the pension component, yet the polytechnic’s Pension Unit, headed by Mr. Adam Erifeta, has allegedly failed to forward the funds. Staff attempting to access 25% of their contributions in late 2025 were reportedly told their accounts had not been updated for over two years and nine months.

One staff member reportedly has only ₦4.7 million in their pension account instead of the expected ₦15–16 million after 11 years of consistent deductions. The petition further claims that PAYE tax deductions from staff salaries, as reflected on payslips, have been embezzled without any remittance to the state revenue office, making it impossible for affected workers to obtain tax clearance certificates.

On the TETFUND front, the petition alleges systematic diversion of funds meant for staff training, conferences, and scholarships. The official TETFUND Zenith Bank account (1010930680) is said to have witnessed unauthorised withdrawals. When TETFUND directed institutions to refund unaccessed funds within 30 days, the polytechnic allegedly paid only 40% of scholarship entitlements to 25 beneficiaries, including Engr. Christian Akeni, Mr. Anslem Agbini, Mr. Nyore Mowarin, Mr. Osiobe Ovie, Mr. Precious Agofure, and 20 others—using internally generated revenue and borrowed funds to avoid exposure. The remaining 60% is alleged to have been siphoned.

The whistleblower accused the ASUP Chairman, Dr. Henry Obeh, of being compromised. After threatening to petition the EFCC and ICPC over the pension and TETFUND fraud, he was allegedly silenced with a sponsored TETFUND conference trip to the Netherlands in July 2025 (funded through IGR because the dedicated account had been looted) and later appointed Head of Department, Social Sciences, in the School of General Studies.

The petition also highlighted the embezzlement of National Housing Fund and National Health Insurance Scheme deductions, further depriving staff of entitled benefits.

According to the documents, the Delta State Government recently invited heads of institutions and union leaders to Asaba, where principal officers of Delta State Polytechnic Otefe-Oghara and Delta State Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku were reportedly indicted for similar pension embezzlement between March 2023 and date. However, political considerations allegedly led to the matter being covered up.

The whistleblower urged the ICPC Chairman to launch an immediate investigation, recover the diverted funds, and prosecute those found culpable. A follow-up proof of delivery confirms the petition reached the ICPC office in Asaba on January 20, 2026, at 15:33, signed by receiver Moses Oboh.

Reacting to the allegations, the Rector, Prof. Emmanuel, confirmed the existence of the petition and disclosed that he had been invited by the ICPC.

Speaking with SecretsReporters, the Rector said he had already written to the ICPC indicating his willingness to appear before the commission next week. He expressed confidence that the matter would be resolved in his favour and described the allegations as a witch-hunt orchestrated by a few aggrieved staff members who were either ineligible for promotion or could not secure certain appointments.

“When you are in this type of position, people fight you all-round,” he said. According to him, the issue escalated after the recent appointment of Heads of Departments and Directors, during which some staff who had spent only a few years in service could not scale through the process. He insisted that he followed due process and the established polytechnic pattern in all appointments and promotions, adding that he was serving the institution with utmost commitment and integrity.

Prof. Ufuophu-Biri appealed for time, pledging to provide all necessary documents to prove that no pension contributions had been diverted, that no TETFUND funds had been misappropriated, and that all resources were being judiciously utilised. He suggested that the reporter could conduct an independent investigation by visiting relevant units in the polytechnic, including the pension office, to obtain official records and verify the claims.

He further informed SecretsReporters that his administration had successfully secured accreditation for over 20 academic programmes and had executed numerous infrastructural projects across the institution. A visit to the polytechnic, he said, would reveal the visible developmental strides recorded under his leadership.

The Rector maintained that the allegations were baseless and motivated by personal grievances rather than any verifiable evidence of wrongdoing, adding that the petitioner should provide evidence of pension contribution being owed or money diverted.

“Good afternoon, my dear brother. Thank you very much for calling me to hear my side of the story. This is true journalism. As I told you we don’t owe any of those deductions you mentioned. We have remitted up to date. We don’t owe any staff with regards to TETFUND. Kindly conduct your independent investigation. Any staff who claims that we owe him/her TETFUND money, let the staff provide you with evidence of TETFUND approval and we will provide the evidence of payment. The staff have not enjoyed TETFUND the way they are enjoying it under our administration. We will pay for all the expenses that you will incur during the period of your independent investigation. Thank you very much. God bless you in Jesus Christ Name,” the rector said via a text message to SecretsRepoters.

The Bursar, Mr. Omokaro Sunday, and the ASUP Chairman, Dr. Henry Obeh, were not available for comments as at press time. Meanwhile, the ICPC Delta State Commissioner, Livinus Ibor, told SecretsReporters that issues of cases cannot be discussed on phone. He demanded that the reporter should visit their office if he wishes to know anything over the case.