The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has requested the Federal Government to begin the process of appointing new rectors to five federal polytechnics.
Mr. Anderson Ezeibe, President of ASUP, made the appeal at the conclusion of the union’s 106th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday in Abuja.
The Federal Polytechnic Ugep in Cross River, the Federal Polytechnic Shendam in Plateau, the Federal Polytechnic Mungonu in Borno, the Federal Polytechnic Enugu in Enugu State, and the Federal Polytechnic Wannune in Benue are among the institutes.
According to Ezeibe, the conference was organised to address major concerns impacting the Nigerian polytechnic system, the education sector, and the country as a whole.
According to him, the union’s NEC is dissatisfied that nothing has transpired more than a month after the National Industrial Court (NIC) judgement in the matter NICN/ABJ/117/2021 issued by Hon. Justice O.A. Obaseki-OSAGHAE.
“This is where the alleged appointments of Prof. Edward Okey, Dr Zakari Yau, Prof. Garba Ngala, Prof. Edwin Onyeneje, and Dr Terlumun Utser as rectors of Federal Polytechnic University (Ugep), Shendam, Mungonu, Ohodo, and Wannune were annulled.”
The government and the institutions’ separate governing boards have yet to begin the process of appointing new rectors.
“We are surprised that the supremacy of the rule of law is threatened in the Nigerian polytechnic system, as this signals a new regime of impunity in the sector,” he said.
As a result, the ASUP president urged the Federal Government, via the Federal Ministry of Education, to uphold the NIC verdict and relieve the affected individuals serving as rectors of their roles.
He said that the union also asked that the nomination process for the rectors of Federal Polytechnic Bauchi and Yaba College of Technology be completed, as its failure was jeopardising the schools’ proper operation.
Ezeibe, on the other hand, praised President Muhammadu Buhari for releasing the first tranche of the N15 billion NEEDS ASSESSMENT intervention for polytechnics.
He said that the monies were now being received by the recipient institutions and the union and that they will be released at the right amount.
“Our union will hold the rector of any polytechnic accountable for any type of infraction observed in the deployment of funds for approved projects.”
“We have received early warning signs of unscrupulous individuals attempting to undermine the deployment of these funds through fictitious demands from the rectors.”
“In due course, we will reveal the identities of these individuals and their collaborators as we are determined to ensure that the funds are spent wisely to improve system infrastructure,” he stated.
The union representative further said that 18 Federal Polytechnics were now facing the consequences of fiscal flaws.
According to him, the consequence of this lack of attention to detail can be seen in non-remittances of third-party deductions such as union check-off dues and cooperative society deductions during the last three months.
“Our union sees this as an attempt to undermine the union as the staff’s representative organs and impoverish members by denying them access to the benefits of their contributions to cooperative societies,” he added.
Ezeibe cited the nonpayment of employee wages at various state-owned polytechnics and mono-technics, including Abia State Polytechnic in Aba, which is owed 40 months, as well as Plateau, Osun, Benue, Ondo, and Edo.
He said that the Sokoto and Ogun state governments withheld the union’s check-off dues.
He went on to say that this was a sad statement on the country’s dispensation of good governance.
He did, however, urge for a resumption of the union and federal government’s 2010 renegotiation, which has stalled since 2017.
