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By Godswill Michael
A detailed review of expenditure records has uncovered how the Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin-Kowa, Gombe State, disbursed ₦2,503,278,265.08 to contractors within just 24 hours, funding a string of projects that appear to fall outside its statutory mandate.
The institution, established on April 19, 2002, under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, was conceived as the first specialised horticultural college of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. Its core responsibility, as defined by the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, is to train middle-level manpower in horticulture and landscaping technology—producing technicians and technologists through National Diploma (ND), Higher National Diploma (HND), and certificate programmes.
However, financial records obtained from Govspend, a civic accountability platform show that on March 31, 2026, the college executed 34 payments in rapid succession, directing public funds into projects that largely tilt toward general infrastructure and community development rather than agricultural training or research.
The disbursements reveal a pattern: contracts were awarded for rural road construction, electrification, ICT centres, borehole drilling, and monitoring services – areas typically handled by other sector-specific agencies. The speed and scope of the payments have raised concerns about procurement processes, budget alignment, and adherence to institutional mandate.
At the centre of the spending spree are a handful of contractors who received the largest shares of the funds. Bridge-Hill Nigeria Limited emerged as the biggest beneficiary, receiving ₦275.2 million, followed closely by Kaita Integrated Services Limited with ₦246.1 million and Rubis Modernise Ltd with ₦246.1 million.
Galaxy Inter Links Nig Ltd was paid ₦140.9 million, while Obet-Obet Nigeria Limited and Smile Project International Resources Limited received ₦134.2 million each. Swam Construction Ltd and Imput Project Partners Ltd were also among the top tier, collecting ₦134.2 million and ₦133.9 million respectively.
Beyond these leading beneficiaries, the funds were further spread across multiple firms handling a mix of projects. Bal & Buk Business Resources Ltd received ₦75.1 million, while June 6 Global Services Limited and Olupeto Global Integrated Ventures Ltd were paid ₦67.1 million each.
Several companies clustered around the ₦53 million range—including Vintage Monitoring and Evaluation Services Ltd, Assad Associates Nig Ltd, A.I Hassan Standard Grade Printing Press Ltd, Istryv Limited, Briadstan Limited, and Emdaic Solutions Nig Ltd—mostly linked to monitoring, evaluation, and support services.
Another tier of contractors, such as Sableek Resources Ltd, Msync Services and Co Limited, and Ganjalwa Global Investment Limited, received about ₦50.3 million each, while El Abbas Universal Concept Ltd took ₦44.7 million. Black Chameleon Nigeria Limited and AT & T Engineering Nig Ltd, alongside AT & T Construction Ltd, were paid roughly ₦40.2 million each.
Lower down the ladder, firms like 1st Step Construction Limited received ₦29 million, with DLC-Delich Construction Company Limited, Sylvalab Construction Ltd, Apt Business Solutions Nig Ltd, Hawah Project Will Nig Ltd, Hilton Villa International Services Ltd, and Isa Halilu Nigeria Ltd earning between ₦26.8 million and ₦27 million. The least paid among the identified contractors, Uchabi Resources Limited, received ₦20.1 million.
What stands out is not just the spread of beneficiaries, but the nature of the projects attached to these payments. Many of them—ranging from road works to electrification and water supply—bear little connection to horticultural education or agricultural capacity development.
This development comes in the wake of a recent directive by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, who warned agencies under the ministry against drifting from their mandates. “All the programmes and initiatives of the ministry shall be completely aligned to attaining the four presidential priorities which are food security, economic growth and job creation, poverty eradication, inclusivity and enabling environment,” the minister stated.
Kyari was explicit in his warning, stressing that agencies must “stick strictly to agricultural development and not venture into unrelated projects.”
Against that backdrop, the spending pattern at the Federal College of Horticulture raises pressing questions.
Why would an institution established to advance horticultural training channel over ₦2.5 billion into projects outside its core mandate? Were these expenditures captured in its approved budget, and did they follow due procurement processes? More critically, what explains the decision to execute all payments within a single day?