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Rector asks ex-deputy to return official vehicle as Iorchir insists she’s acting rector
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A fresh leadership crisis has erupted at the Federal Polytechnic, Wannune, Benue State, as the rector, Dr Tyover Dajoh, and the institution’s former deputy rector, Dr Doris Iorchir, disagreed over her status and the control of an official vehicle.
Dajoh, at a press conference at the polytechnic at the weekend, said Iorchir was no longer a staff member of the institution following the termination of her appointment and urged her to return the official vehicle assigned to her.
He also warned members of the public and students against dealing with her as deputy rector, saying the matter was already before the courts.
Dajoh said, “She is not, and she cannot be our staff any longer. She is not even a deputy rector. Dr Doris has left us and we have cases with her in court.”
The rector said the institution had made several attempts to recover the vehicle through its transport officer and chief security officer.
“We have been trying to retrieve our vehicle from her. Our transport officer has communicated with her on two or three occasions. Our chief security officer has also communicated with her,” he said.
Dajoh urged Iorchir to return the vehicle pending the resolution of the legal issues between her and the institution.
He also disputed her claim that an injunction had been issued restraining the polytechnic from taking action against her, saying neither the institution nor its Governing Council had been served with any such order.
The rector challenged Iorchir to provide the case number, names of the parties, date of the order and the name of the judge who allegedly issued the injunction.
Dajoh said Iorchir had earlier petitioned the institution over the termination of her appointment, adding that the polytechnic had responded to the issues raised.
According to him, the institution’s position was that her appointment had not been confirmed and that the Governing Council had taken a decision on the matter after considering the circumstances surrounding her case.
The registrar of the polytechnic, Joseph Olusegun, corroborated the rector’s position, saying Iorchir had recently contacted his office and forwarded documents relating to her court case.
Olusegun, who said he assumed office about six months ago, said he briefed the rector on the documents but added that the Governing Council had not reversed its earlier decision on Iorchir’s appointment.
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He said, “To the best of my knowledge, and at the last council meeting that we held, no decision has been taken to bring Dr Doris Iorchir back. Neither has council reversed itself on the earlier decision it took to terminate her appointment.”
Dajoh attributed the disagreement to a recruitment exercise conducted by the institution, explaining that the polytechnic had received about 3,000 applications for vacant positions and introduced an aptitude test as part of the screening process.
He said a disagreement arose after Iorchir proceeded with the marking of the test scripts despite his instruction that the exercise should be suspended until his return from an official engagement in Abuja.
According to him, fewer than 50 applicants passed the test, leading to disagreements over the recruitment process.
Dajoh argued that the advertised requirements for the positions should determine the recruitment process, rather than an aptitude test that was not included in the advertisement.
He said the disagreement eventually resulted in what he described as “gross insubordination” and subsequent action by the Governing Council.
On whether the Federal Ministry of Education was aware of the council’s decision, Dajoh said the ministry was represented on the Governing Council and was therefore aware of the development.
He added that the minister’s representative participated in a committee set up by the council to examine the issues involving Iorchir.
However, when contacted by phone, Iorchir rejected Dajoh’s position, insisting that she remained the deputy rector and was currently acting as rector pending the appointment of an acting rector by the Governing Council.
She argued that there was a vacancy in the office of rector and that, pending the council’s appointment of an acting rector, she was entitled to act in that capacity by virtue of her position as deputy rector and the provisions of the Federal Polytechnics Act.
She said, “Until the council appoints an acting rector, I am acting officially as the rector under Section 9 of the Act and my appointment contract as the deputy rector.”
She disclosed that she had issued a pre-action notice to the Governing Council and the polytechnic and would seek judicial intervention if the council failed to act in accordance with the Federal Polytechnics Act 2004, as amended in 2019.
She stated that, “If the council does not act according to the Federal Polytechnics Act 2004 as amended in 2019 and appoint an acting rector then advertise the vacancy, the court would compel them to do so under the law.”
Iorchir also questioned the circumstances surrounding Dajoh’s appointment as rector, saying she had challenged the validity of his emergence.
