Crisis brews in Fed Poly, Ugep over appointment of rector

From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar

Crisis is brewing in the newly established Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, Cross River State, over the planned appointment of a rector by the institution.

This follows a protest by students of the polytechnic, who staged a peaceful protest to the Governor’s Office in Calabar, over an alleged move to appoint a non-indigene as rector of the institution.

The students carried placards with inscriptions such as “Respect Catchment Area Policy”, “No to Non-Indigene Rector”, “Uphold Local Content in Ugep,” and “Our Indigene Deserves the Position of Rector”.

The protesting students said they are drawing the attention of both the federal and Cross River State governments to what they described as a deviation from the established rector selection process.

Speaking during the protest, one of the student leaders, Stephen Etem, said the federal government had put in place a governing council for the institution, chaired by a former senator from Cross River State, Florence Ita Giwa, with the mandate to conduct the selection exercise to choose a rector.

Etem explained that the process, which began last year, produced a Cross River indigene that reportedly emerged as the best candidate during the screening and was subsequently recommended by the governing council.

He alleged that information reaching the students indicated that the name of the successful candidate that has been forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Education might be substituted.

“Our concern is that an indigene of Cross River State emerged first in the screening exercise, yet there are indications that his name may be replaced. This goes against the principles of local content and the catchment area policy,” he said.

Responding on behalf of the state government, the Special Adviser to the governor on Intelligence, Goddie Akpama, appealed to the students to remain calm and ensure that their protest remained peaceful.

He advised the students to put their grievances in writing and channel the same through the appropriate authorities.