There is illegality brewing in the Kaduna Polytechnic following the governing council’s approval of the tenure extension of the acting rector, Dr Suleiman Umar, by another six months in total breach of the Polytechnic Act.
The six months illegal tenure extension came even after the former rector of the polytechnic now executive secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Professor Idris Bugaje, advised the acting rector not to be part of such illegality.
After all entreaties fell on deaf ears, the executive secretary of NBTE had to petition the minister of education, drawing his attention to the illegality and citing Auchi and Mubi as two polytechnics where provision of six months period of acting rector has been fully complied with in spite of the challenges in the institutions.
Besides, there is allegation of financial inducement for the governing council and other ministry’s staff to compromise the illegal “tenure extension” of the acting rector, which the ministry of education should quickly investigate and the culprits brought to book. However, instead of the acting rector and his acolytes to eat their humble pie and bury their heads in shame for being part of an illegality, they launched an attack on Professor Bugaje for simply advising them to toe the part of law. I learnt that the desperated acting rector has hired faceless group to dig on Bugaje’s past record with a view to painting them black.
But, I am not here to defend Bugaje. His brilliant records of services as rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, director general NARICT, Kaduna Polytechnic and now executive secretary, NBTE will speak for him.
Nonetheless, the acting rector and his misleading registrar should come forward and answer these simple questions. First, is the illegal “tenure extension” not a violation of the Polytechnic Act? Second,is there alleged financial inducement for their illegality to stand or not? Answer to these posers will unarguably set them free and stop future scrutiny of their past misdeeds. It has become pertinent for the federal ministry of education to step in and reverse this illegality. Failure to wade in and do the needful will set a bad precedent. In the near future, governing councils of polytechnics may sit down and extend the tenure of acting rectors as they wish. They will base their argument on the illegality that happened in Kaduna Polytechnic.
To avoid this, the federal ministry of education should ensure governing councils do not violate the extant Polytechnic Act by extending acting rectors’ tenure. I agree with Professor Bugaje’s position that acting rectors should not be applicants. If they want to apply, let them resign their position. In doing so, desperation to bend the rules in their favour will be contained and transparency for the selection of the new rectors upheld. In conclusion, the acting rector should not hide under the cover of illegality to attack those who tell him the plain truth. His attack on Professor Idris Bugaje who brought him to limelight from ordinary lecturer amounts to treachery and ingratitude.
The acting rector is a living testimony of how Bugaje transformed Kaduna Polytechnic. During his stint in Kaduna Polytechnic, there were accountability and transference in the management of the institution’s resources. To his credit, the institution had never experienced strike but enjoyed industrial harmony
Malam Musa D. Dauda, Chairman, Concerned Kaduna Polytechnic Community
