By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja.
Dr. Usman Ogbo, Rector, Kogi State Polytechnic,Lokoja.
Participatory leadership, prudent management of resources, culture of instilling discipline, coupled with aversion to cultism, introduced by the current leadership of the Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja are beginning to yield desired results.
The Rector, Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja,Dr. Usman Ogbo, made the disclosure on Friday in Lokoja while fielding question from Journalists on the sideline of the inspection of projects at the Polytechnic by the governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaha Bello.
Ogbo said due to the stern stand of the Polytechnic against cultism ,a young man who come to the campus during examination was monitored,caught and handed over to the police for prosection.
“We arraigned him before a Magistrate’s court, he has been jailed for eight years for being a member of an unlawful society,”he said.
Ogbo said that following approval given by the governor for employment, 400 youths had been taken from the streets, employed and now working in the Polytechnic with enthusiasm, showing commitment and contributing their to the development of the institution.
According to the Rector, the Issue of cultism and cult related activities in the Polytechnic is no more have pride of place in the Polytechnic.
The Polytechnic boss also told the Journalists that he carried out massive rehabilitation of facilities at the institution at through direct labour, involving heads of departments and achieved the desired quality of work.
These,he added, include hostels, lecture theatre, library, water reticulation, fencing of female hostel ,among others.
On accreditation of courses,he revealed that he had been able to secure accreditation of 30 core courses to boost the quality of academic activities.
Commenting on the welfare of staff, he said he approached the governor over the implementation of staff promotion, adding that the governor on May, 2022, approved the implementation to encourage productivity.
On security situation at the Itapke campus of the Polytechnic, the Rector said that information at his disposal showed that the state government had approved N300 million for the fencing of the campus,based on the proposal sent to it.
He promised that efforts were to ensure that the governor approves the amount to enable the project to start.
The Rector, however, expressed concern that the Polytechnic had been facing land encroachment,especially in zango area where land belonging to the Polytechnic is almost taken over.
According to him,he has to go to zango, recently, to demolition some houses as part of efforts to stop the encroachment.
Ogbo, who described Governor Bello as a “risk taker” for Nigerian youths, said that though he might not have achieved his recent political ambition,” but he won the trophy for challenging the statusquo and those who think that they own this country.”
He added that even though the governor belongs to the minority ethnic group within the geo-political and ethnic equation of Kogi and Nigeria at large, he was not deterred.
“He dared those who think they can use us as numbers to bargain and when it comes to distribution of resources,we are nobody, we become the minority.” Ogbo noted.
The Rector commended the governor for giving him and his management, free hand to operate and for the achievements they so far accomplished.
