REVERSE YOUR POLICIES ON POLYTECHNICS
——Unionist tells FG
By Fidelis Jockthan
A Yola-based Unionist, Comrade Hussaini James has called on the Federal Government to review and reverse all policies and decisions that are not in conformity with the provisions of the Polytechnics Act and other instruments in the sub-sector.
Comrade Hussaini James
Comrade Hussaini who is also the National Auditor of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics ASUP made the call during an interview with Newsmen in Yola, the Adamawa State Capital on the wheels of the ongoing 2-weeks warning strike embarked upon by the union to press home its demands.
ASUP had earlier asked the Federal Government to address what it described as compelling issues ranging from violations of the Federal Polytechnics Act, the non-review of the contentious ‘scheme of service for Polytechnics and conditions of service’ documents and the non-release of the 2023 NEEDS Assessment Intervention Funds.
Other critical issues are; the usurpation of the Academic Board’s role by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) in the admission of Higher National Diploma (HND) candidates, and the non-inclusion of members’ Peculiar Academic Allowance in the planned post-IPPIS era among others.
He therefore emphasized that the union would not call off the strike until all their demands were fully met.
Part of the reasons as quoted by the Comrade from the official text are;
“In 2019, an Act of the Parliament was enacted for the Polytechnic sector to regulate her operations and ensure fairness and equity is maintained in the sector in tandem with global based practices. But it may interest you to know that the same Government who had assented to this law is the one breaching the provisions of the law with regards to the appointment of Rectors in our sector. Recently, a substantive Rector was appointed at the Federal Polytechnic Wanune, Benue without interview and in the absence of a Governing Council, the Union is saying that, that appointment should be revisited and let the right thing be done. Such impunity must be curtailed and be discouraged in toto, as if that is not bad enough, at the Federal Polytechnic Nekede in Imo state, the Chairman of the Governing Council there without the input of the members of the Council and without following due process and presenting the report of the interview to the supervising Ministry who will in turn write a memo to His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to give approval all this were not done only for the Man to through the back door appoint the Rector single handedly. You can recall the same thing happened at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University where A VC was appointed by the Council Chairman, as we talking now the Council Chairman has been removed, and the illegally appointed VC also sacked. All we asking is Mr. President to apply the same measure he took against the Chairman of the Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University on the Council Chairman of Nekede and remove the illegally appointed Rector at Nekede and Wanune”.
