By Gabriel Dike
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has made a passionate appeal to President Bola Tinubu to review the alleged irregularities in the appointment of a new rector for Federal Polytechnic Nekede by the Governing Council.
ASUP at a briefing in Lagos described as outright and daylight violation of the provisions of the Federal Polytechnics Act in the appointment of a new rector in Federal Polytechnic Nekede.
The Zone C Coordinator of ASUP, Adekunle Masopa, who was flanked by the Chairmen of D.S. Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Opeyemi Ogunyinka, Yaba College of Technology, Monday Ojo and Federal Polytechnic Ede, Azeez Olukayode, said the illegal appointment at Nekede is part of the union’s demands for the ongoing national strike.
Masopa disclosed that the Governing Council of Federal Polytechnic, Nekede displayed a high degree of impunity in the selection process for the rector of the institution.
He also mentioned the failure of the Governing Council to observe due process in the appointment of a rector in Federal Polytechnic Wannune as another reason for the current industrial action.
According to him, the crisis at Nekede, Wannune and some state institutions are clear cases of irregularities in the applications of the Polytechnic Act, Edicts and other instruments of governance.
He added: “Our union is left to wonder why and how the Presidency allowed been hoodwinked into cases of appointments with glaring irregularities and violations of the Federal Polytechnics Act in Federal Polytechnic Nekede and Wannune.”
Masopa said the beneficiary of the alleged irregularities appointment have placed an embargo on the union’s account, stopped union deductions, threats to elected union officials, undue closure of the Secretariat, defacing union sign post and setting up a caretaker committee, which he described as alien to ASUP Constitution.
“These are efforts to ensure that illegalities in the appointment of a new rector in the Federal Polytechnic Nekede stand.
“Our expectation is for the Federal Government to act swiftly on the matter as they did in a similar case in another institution recently. This is to affirm government non-discriminatory conduct towards the polytechnic sector,” he stated.
He disclosed that the silence of government on the Nekede Polytechnic is part of the neglect against the polytechnic by the government, noting, Federal Government does not place important on polytechnic education. We urge government to deploy the same measures applied to UNIZIK to resolve the Nekede crisis.”
On the strike, the coordinator said before the industrial action, ASUP wrote series of letters to the Federal Government on it outstanding demands and that government response as always being political.
He revealed that the ongoing strike would end on December 16 and NEC would reconvene in January to take the next line of action.
Masopa further disclosed that the Federal Government owes tertiary institutions over N300billion for Needs Assessment intervention funds for 2023 while 2024 is about to end.
He listed the issues in contention that led to the ongoing strike to include violation of the Federal Polytechnics Act, non-review of the contentious and suspended document, entitled: Schemes of Service for Polytechnics and Conditions of Service, usurpation of Academic Board function by NBTE on the admission of HND candidate, non-capturing of the Peculiar Academic Allowance of members for sustained payment in the planned post IPPIS era.
He explained that others demands are refusal of most state-owned polytechnics to implement the 35 per cent/25 per cent salary review for members and non-release of the arrears of same in federal polytechnics, non-release/resolution of the owed CONTISS 15 migration arrears to members in the lower cadre, non-conclusion of the FGN/ASUP 2010 agreement renegotiation process, non-conduct of promotion exercises in some state institutions and non-release of promotion arrears in both federal and state-owned institutions and the intimidation of elected union officials by the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede and the non-release of the appointment of rectors in Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny Island, Federal Polytechnic, Oko and Federal Polytechnic, Ukana even though the processes have since been concluded.