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Tag: Federal Polytechnic

  • Auchi Polytechnic joins ASUP nationwide strike

    Auchi Polytechnic joins ASUP nationwide strike

    Members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic ( ASUP ) in Federal Polytechnic, Auchi in Edo State on Monday paralysed academic activities in the institution by joining in the nationwide strike called by the national leadership of the body.

    Lecture halls and offices were under lock and key when our reporter visited the campus.

    Some graduating students that were on campus for project supervision were seen leaving the campus.

    The leadership of ASUP commenced the nationwide strike to protest the non-implementation of its CONTISS 15 migration arrears, non-commencement of renegotiation of ASUP/Government agreement of 2010 and the delay in the review of the Federal Polytechnics Act, amongst other issues.

    Chairman of the Auchi Polytechnic Branch of ASUP, Mr. Justin Momodu, said his members complied with the national directive to proceed on the strike action

    Momodu said, “The Auchi branch of ASUP have complied with strike because the Federal Government has refused to meet our demands.

    “Government has not demonstrated that it is prepared to honour its agreement with ASUP.

    “We have demonstrated enough patience and if government fails to meet our demands we will remain on total trike,” he said.

    The Chairman Strike Implementation Monitoring Committee, Mr George Okosun said the committee was set up to enforce the strike.

    “This committee is set up to ensure that no lecturers or academic activities is taking place at the polytechnic.

    “Our aim to shut down lecture halls and office are closed down for any academic activities,” he said.

    Okosun said that the committee would continue to go round the institution to ensure lecturers complied with the strike directive.

  • Riot: Ado Poly imposes N20, 000 reparation fee on students

    Riot: Ado Poly imposes N20, 000 reparation fee on students

    The management of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado -Ekiti has imposed a reparation fee of N20, 000 on each student for the violence on the property destroyed, looted and stolen during the October 7 riot that rocked the institution.

    Besides paying the reparation fee, the returning students are also to swear to an affidavit to be of good behavior throughout their period of studentship and a letter of indemnity from parents and sponsors.

    These are part of the decisions reached at the emergency meeting of the Academic Board held on Tuesday which also ordered that all students should resume on Monday, 20th November.

    In a statement signed by the Registrar, Mrs. Sade Adediran, authorities stressed that payment of school fees and the N20, 000 reparation fee are conditions for resumption. Students are expected to commence their on 27th November except for those on SIWES.

    It will be recalled that students of the polytechnic went on rampage on October 7 in protest against the death of a Vincent Taiwo Oluwafemi, an HND 2 student of Estate Management which whom they had discharged from Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti,
    against medical advice.

    They brought Oluwafemi to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)-accredited Polytechnic Health Centre which they alleged was ill-equipped to save the life of their colleague, an allegation debunked by the authorities.

    The students set the Health Centre ablaze, destroyed some vehicles, the security post, Information and Communication Technology Centre (ICT) where they stole over 40 laptops, bakery and fishery were also looted.

    They looted the school poultry where they stole chickens and eggs, hundreds of tubers of yams were also stolen from the demonstration farm while the Entrepreneurship Centre and departmental buildings were also vandalized.

    The magnitude of the violence prompted the management to close down the polytechnic indefinitely and students ordered to vacate the campus.

    Mrs. Adediran added: “Resumption of all Students has been slated for Monday, 20th November, 2017, and that all Students including those with outstanding Carry-over Courses are to immediately pay a reparation fee of N20,000 only.

    “In this respect, a payment platform has been created and Students are therefore advised to observe the following procedures: Visit the Polytechnic Website (www.fedpolyado.edu.ng)Click on the Student portal.

    “All Students are to also proceed to the Bursary after payment of reparation fee for authentication while Examination for all Students (except SIWES) commences on Monday, 27th November, 2017

    “Full Examination Time-Tables are already on display in the respective Schools and Departments) while Resumption cum commencement of Lectures for SIWES Students has been fixed for Monday, 11th December, 2017.”

    Read Also: Oyo striking schools to get councils

     

  • Ex-union leader, rector clash over SUG election

    The immediate past president of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi (AUCHI POLY) in Edo State, Samson Okoduwa, has called on the institution’s management to allow students hold elections into the union.

    He said there were plans by management to impose a caretaker committee on students when there was no crisis in the union.

    Activities of the union were suspended last month over alleged threat to the second semester examination.

    The institution’s spokesman, Mustapha Oshiobugie, said the proscription of SUG activities followed threat by the Okoduwa-led executive to disrupt the examination to protest management’s postponement of union elections till after the examination.

    Okoduwa said the union’s proscription was uncalled for, accusing the management of a plot to impose its preferred candidates against students’ wish.

    The former SUG leader urged the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to prevail on the school to stop what he called militarisation of the campus with local hunters, vigilante groups, police and military men from the 195 Battalion of the Nigerian Army.

    The Monday protest at the school, he said, is to remind the management of the pending SUG election.

    Okoduwa said: “There has been no problem in the union. The students protested on Monday because we told them the dangers of writing examinations without a new elected SUG leadership in place. The students came out, but the Acting Rector used police, hunters and local vigilante to suppress the protest. Many students were injured in the protest. As we speak, there is no identity card for the students, even after each student paid N1,500 for the card.”

    The Acting Rector, Dr Sanusi Jimah, said plans were on to gear to start the issuance of ID cards to students. He denied the school wanted to impose caretaker committee on the students, saying Okoduwa refused to submit names for the constitution of electoral committee members, because he was on the run for embezzling the union fund.

    Jimah said: “Other departmental and faculty elections have been held successfully, except for the School of Engineering. We have brought up schedule for examination when we saw a letter that there would be no examination without election. Okoduwa brought armed boys to the school on Sunday. On Monday morning, he went to the hall to stop examination. He insulted me and I didn’t care when I tried to call him to order.

    “The disruption happened only at the ICT. Others were writing examinations. The police arrested him and left him to write examination. We suspended SUG activities for the now until after examination.”

     

  • Student’s death sparks violence in Ekiti

    Student’s death sparks violence in Ekiti

    A health centre and properties worth millions of naira were destroyed in a protest by students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti (ADO POLY) in Ekiti State, following the death of a Higher National Diploma (HND) student, Oluwafemi Vincent Taiwo. The protesters alleged that their colleague died as a result of negligence at the school’s health centre. The management denied any wrongdoing, shutting down the school indefinitely. SOLOMON ODENIYI reports.

    Students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti (ADO POLY) in Ekiti State went wild last Saturday, destroying the school’s property in a protest that followed the death of a student identified as Oluwafemi Vincent Taiwo.

    In the rampage, the students torched the school’s health centre. Afterwards, they moved to the highway leading to the institution, destroying properties and smashing windscreens of vehicles. They also went on a looting binge at the polytechnic’s poultry, stealing eggs and chickens.

    They blamed Vincent’s death on negligence by the school clinic workers, alleging that the victim was not attended to hours after he arrived at the facility.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the late Vincent, a Higher National Diploma (HND) Estate Management student, had gone to the health centre last Friday and complained of a severe headache and chest pain.

    He was said to be left unattended to before his condition got worse. On noticing that they could not handle his treatment, the school clinic workers reportedly referred the student to the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital.

    However, his family members were said to have discharged him forcefully after being neglected by doctors at the teaching hospital.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the late Vincent was later taken to his hometown, Ikole-Ekiti, where he later died on Saturday morning

    A close friend of the deceased, who pleaded for anonymity, told CAMPUSLIFE: “Vincent took himself to the school health centre, but he was not given proper treatment. He was only injected with sleeping syrup. Immediately he woke up, he could not move any of his body parts. It was then he was rushed to the Teaching Hospital.

    “Even at the Teaching Hospital, he was not attended to because he had no National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) plan. Yet, the hospital was not ready to release him and would not treat him either. It was the next day his brother forcefully discharged him so that he could be taken to a private hospital in Ikole-Ekiti.”

    In response to the violence, the management of Ado Poly shut the school indefinitely to prevent further breakdown of law and order. It ordered all students out of the campus.

    A top management staff member, who was not permitted to talk to the press on the matter, absolved the school from wrongdoing when he spoke to our correspondent.

    He said: “The student was discovered to be an ulcer patient when he was taken to the health centre. At that time, his pulse was low. So, the health centre workers rushed him to the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital. By the morning when the management members got there, the student had been taken away by a man whose relationship with the deceased we don’t know as I speak to you.

    “The late student was taken away against medical advice. We learnt the person was made to sign an undertaking, which he did. The deceased was taken away alive from the Teaching Hospital but died later. How that becomes the problem of the school remains a mystery.”

    A student of the polytechnic, who was at the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital last Friday, told CAMPUSLIFE the deceased was in pain before he was taken away by his family members. According to the student, whose dad is on admission at the Teaching Hospital, the late Vincent pleaded with his brother to take him away because of the pain.

    The president of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Samuel Dairo, condemned the violence. He said although there were complaints by students about the poor care and attention they got at the health centre, there was no justification for the violence.

    He said: “I was outside the campus when I got information about the violence. By the time I got to the health centre, I saw the building on fire. Students were all over, destroying property. The situation could not be controlled again by SUG officials, even though we made an effort to stop the protesters. We condemned the violence. Whatever happened is not for anyone to take the law into his own hands.”

    Reacting, the Rector, Dr. Theresa Akande, denied the claim of negligence by the students.

    She said: “The allegation that when they got there (health centre), they were not given proper care is not true, because I use the health centre myself. I go there many times unannounced and if there had been lapses, I would have noticed.”

    The rector said Vincent did not die at the health centre or Teaching Hospital, wondering why the students destroyed the school property.

    According to the rector, Vincent was brought into the health centre on Friday morning “seriously ill”.

    She said: “The deceased was given attention at the health centre. He was admitted, because we have admission facilities. Towards evening, it was noticed that his condition was deteriorating and immediately, he was taken to the Teaching Hospital accompanied by a nurse.

    “According to them, they stabilised him, but to their shock, yesterday (Saturday) morning, somebody who claimed to be the brother came and discharged him forcibly and said he was going to take care of him.”

    To forestall further violence, the management shut the school and inaugurated a seven-man panel of inquiry to unravel the cause of the violence and take stock of things destroyed.

    The management, on Monday, proscribed the SUG and suspended all the union activities till further notice. The decision to suspend the students’ body was reached after a meeting with the suspended union executive members and some student leaders of the institution.

     

  • Be patient with Buhari – Obaseki 

    Be patient with Buhari – Obaseki 

    Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has urged Nigerians to be patient with the federal government of Nigeria as President Mohammadu Buhari tries to salvage the country destroyed by the past leadership of the country.

     

    Governor Obaseki spoke at the 24th convocation ceremony of Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State where a total of 18,010 graduands for the award of Post Higher Diploma, Higher National Diploma.

     

    Represented by his Deputy, Comrade Philip Shaibu, Governor Obaseki said his administration understands the importance of technical education as the bed rock of any developed countries.

     

    This, he noted, was the reason the present administration is investing more in revamping moribund technical colleges across the state.

     

    Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, urged tertiary institutions in the country to focus more on technical and  entrepreneurial courses in their institutions for job creation.

     

    Mallam Adamu who was represented by Mr. Ekpenyong Ekpenyong, Director, Physical Planning and Development, National Board for Technical Education, said youths in né country must be encouraged to key into entrepreneurial study rather than seeking for the scarce white collar jobs.

     

    Adamu admonished the various institutions of learnings to embark on more research that will turn the fortune of the country around.

     

    State Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Emmanuel Kachukwu, said it was difficult for the present administration to meet job demands in the county because past administration plunged the country into hardship as result of poor management and embezzlement of public funds making it.

     

    He said, “I have seen a lot of money taken away by the past administration and because of this, the present administration is trying to revive the economy.

     

    “There is no money to establish industries to absorb them. Our youths are now roaming the streets. And when they do, we are not safe. We must engage the youth and for we to overcome all these challenges, our institution of learnings must incorporate entrepreneurial and technical courses in their curriculum”, he said.

     

    On the part of the former Minister of Information, Prince Tony Momoh, while blaming the past administration for failing to save for the future, charged the graduands to cultivate the culture of saving for the future to avoid the mistakes of the past governments.

     

    “The youth in Nigeria today, they lack understanding, for instance, when the last administration was there, we have to save money for the rainy day but we failed to do so. We ate the future in the present. Now you know, the present is today but yesterday, was the present. So yesterday, looking at today, we are looking at the future. All of you here, all your entitlements, you sat down and ate it. 

     

    “All of you who were growing up, what we should have done to empower you, we did not do. Today, you are deprived. Obasanjo left money, Yar’ Adua left money and Jonathan inherited the money but unfortunately by the time he left, we have eaten the money and not Jonathan that ate the money but people ate the money”, he said.

     

    The event climaxed with the conferment of Auchi Polytechnic Fellowship Awards on the Hon. Minister of Petroleum (State), Dr. Ibe Emmanuel Kachukwu and the Hon Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amenchi.

  • Students kick as poly issues restriction order

    The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti (ADO POLY) students have kicked against the management’s directive restricting movement in and out of the campus from 10pm. Students said the school’s decision was against their rights and would affect their wellbeing.

    The management’s directive also barred campus traders from opening their shops beyond the stipulated time. Besides, the school deployed cadet corps to Lagos Female Hostel to restrict boys from having access to the hall in the evening, following complaints of theft and immoral activities.

    Students have rejected the directive, describing it as a “draconian order”. They said it was abnormal for the authorities to try to restrict students’ movement on the campus, wondering whether the school was an army barracks.

    Students’ Union Government (SUG) Welfare Director Adewale Fatoyinbo said the directive had denied students the rights to free movement and livelihood, noting that the campus hads been turned to a ghost town.

    A student, Tonia Ajayi, said the polytechnic should not be turned to a secondary school, adding that the directive was issued in bad faith.

    She said: “A higher institution is supposed to be bubbling. But, the management wants to turn our campus to a grave yard. The decision needs to be reviewed, because the polytechnic may become a secondary school in the process.”

    Another student, who pleaded for anonymity, said campus was supposed to be lively at all times, regretting that her two years of study in this school had been boring.

    Since the directive was issued, CAMPUSLIFE observed that cadet corps regularly move around the female hostel at 7pm to send out boys visiting the hall. Occupants of the Lagos Female Hostel hadve lodged several complaints to the school Chief Security Officer about theft and burglary in the hostel.

    A recent case of theft had occupants’ mobile phones, laptops, jewelry, make-up kit and other personal effects carted away by a burglar. Also, there had been cases of rape and attempted rape in the Lagos Female Hostel.

    It was gathered that there had been regular disputes between the cadet corps and female students over visiting period for the boys. While the cadet corps said it was in the interest of the occupants of the hostel to send out visiting male students, the girls considered it displeasing to send their visitors away.

    Findings by CAMPUSLIFE showed that students did not adhere fully to the restriction order. Students called on the management to withdraw the order to allow them have free movement on the campus.

     

  • Ijaw youths, rector seek road to Bayelsa Fed Poly

    Ijaw youths are worried about lack of access to the only Federal Polytechnic in Bayelsa State located at Ekowe, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. Since its establishment, the institution has continued to experience lull in academic activities.

    It was once enmeshed in a prolonged crisis between the employees and the management. But since the appointment of Dr. Seighabo Enitimi, as the new Rector of the institution, peace and stability returned to the campus.

    The rector has made significant progress to restore confidence in admission seekers. But the polytechnic has continued to lag behind because of lack of accessibility. Water remains the only means of transportation to the polytechnic.

    With the upsurge in piracy, militancy, incidences of boat accidents and other criminal activities along the waterways, admission seekers avoid the polytechnic like a plague.

    In fact, Ijaw youths are not happy that road has not got to the institution. Recently, the newly elected Central Zone leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, visited the school.

    The Chairman of the Zonal IYC, Mr. Tare Porri, after touring the facilities said the institution was the best polytechnic in the country. He commended the vision and mission of the new rector. But he said the institution was underperforming because there was no road to the area.

    Addressing the rector, Porri said: “We decided to pay you this visit to see how we can partner in areas you are lacking. We have seen all the Federal polytechnic across the country and I am bold to say this polytechnic is the best in terms of infrastructure.

    “So we felt the need for the IYC under our leadership to partner with the management of the institute to compel the Federal government to complete the road linking the institution to other parts of the world.

    “We are aware that the student enrollment of the institution is low and has continued to drop because of the fear of militancy, sea piracy and boat mishap, so we think, if the road from Yenagoa to Oporoma is completed, this institution would be one of the best in the country.

    “We are hereby using this opportunity to call on all our lawmakers in the National Assembly to ensure that this road gets into the budget if the federal government and we as IYC would follow it up until it is completed”.

    In his response, the rector enumerated the challenges he met on ground when he took over the leadership of the school. He said top on the issues was the conflict between the management and the workers.

    “However, we came with a vision and the vision is to ensure that we increase our students enrollment and I also made it clear that the attitude of staff of the institution must change.

    “In spite of all these, we also know that our location is a major problem because we are not linked to other parts of the world by road.

    “If the central senatorial road is completed, this polytechnic would be the most talked about in this country because it is the first oil and gas institution in Africa.

    “However, before we came on board, this institution was blacklisted by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for five year because of poor management of funds.

    “And when we came on board, we have been able to remove the institution from the black book and very soon we would start to receive backlog of our benefits from TETFUND. What this means is that from September this year, we would be able to commence our HND programme”.

  • Offa poly promotes 317 workers

    Offa poly promotes 317 workers

    The newly constituted Governing Council of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara, has  approved the promotion of 317 academic and non academic staff.

    The spokesman of the polytechnic, Yinka Iroye, said on Thursday that those promoted included 133 academic  and  184 non academic staff  who were due since 2016.

    Iroye added that the promotion was at the instance of the Rector, Dr Lateef Olatunji,  who was appointed in January.

    He said  the new rector, upon assuming office, canvassed  for the approval of the outstanding promotion list at the inaugural meeting of the new governing council headed  by Chief Oseloka Zikora.

    Iroye  said the council had  met with junior and senior workers of the institution where union leaders also  called for the approval of the promotion.

    He said the council chairman commended the rector for ushering in notable developments  within his few months in office.

    The council chairman, according to Iroye, also admonished the staff to be diligent while  ensuring  punctuality at their duty posts.

  • Workers protest against non-payment of salaries in Fedpoly zamfara

    Security guards and cleaners of the Federal Polytechnic, Kaura-Namoda in Zamfara on Friday shut gates of the institution demanding payment of their five months salaries.
    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that scores of menial workers who are contract staff blocked the entrance and exit gates of the institution and paralysed academic activities.
    Spokespersons of the aggrieved workers, Abdullahi Dayau and Umaru Danmashe, security man and cleaner respectively, said they will not allow passage through the gates until their demands were met.
    “We are prepared to sustain the struggle even if it means the end of our stay as workers in the school’’, they said.
    Dayau said their families had been facing untold hardship following non-payment of the salaries adding that the jobs were their only source of income.
    According to him, the rector had promised to raise money from the permanent staff’s salaries, yet nothing was given to them.
    Dayau said the situation had led to many broken homes while their children were sent back from school for non-payment of fees.
    Rector of the polytechnic, Mr Ahmad Lugga said the protesters were not the direct responsibility of the institution and as such, the protest was misplaced.
    “We contracted out the issue of security to Pama Securities while sanitation is being handled by Habitat Sanitation Company and both outfits are responsible for their staff’’, he said.
    The rector confirmed that the polytechnic owed the two companies adding that efforts were being made to resolve the problem.
    He pleaded with the workers to be patient as efforts were being made to pay them.

  • Bida Poly appeals for police presence

    Bida Poly appeals for police presence

    The Federal Polytechnic, Bida in Niger, has appealed for a police post to complement management’s efforts at securing the institution.

    Its Rector, Dr Abubakar Dzukogi, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Wednesday in Bida.

    “We have officially notified the authorities about our request; we are optimistic that our request will be granted,” he said.

    He said that the population of the students had gone past 15,000, and emphasised the need to improve the security situation in view of recent developments in the country.

    The Rector explained that more security personnel were required to tackle internal and external security challenges.

    ‘‘We often have cases of cultism, burglary and phone snatching; very often, too, we have miscreants coming into the institution. We need to check such evils.’’