Controversy trails appointment of rector at Auchi Polytechnic

The appointment of a substantive rector for Auchi Polytechnic is presently causing ripples at the institution as some concerned stakeholders have accused the management of allegedly working to impose an unpopular candidate on the school.

Already, the aggrieved persons have sent an open letter to President Mohammadu Buhari, seeking his intervention to save the institution from imminent crisis.

But the management has dismissed the allegations saying its actions on the vexed issue are in order.

The stakeholders in the petition signed by David Mike, a copy of which was made available to The Guardian accused the management of subverting due process in the appointment process.

The group wondered why the management would advertise for the position of rector after a panel set up by the Minister of Education; Adamu Adamu had interviewed the applicants.

The petition read in part, “The interview panel which was constituted by the Minister of Education consisted of highly placed individuals in the sector.

They included the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the Director of Tertiary Education as well as two other highly placed persons in the ministry, two officers of the Federal Character Commission and two senior lecturers from the institution.

“The panel interviewed 28 candidates, including the incumbent Acting rector, Dr Sanusi Momoh Jimah who was rated 14th. But surprisingly, he was appointed, in acting capacity.

They also faulted the role of NBTE in the entire process, saying it is unprecedented in the history of any administration that a regulatory body would appoint Acting rector for any institution.

The aggrieved stakeholders described the fresh advertorial by the management for the position of rector as uncalled for and an attempt to foist a candidate on the polytechnic community.

They subsequently demanded the urgent intervention of the president to avert crisis in the institution.

But the school, through its public relations officer, Mr Oshiobugie Mustapha dismissed the claims of the aggrieved stakeholders saying the appointment of the acting rector was in order.

Mustapha who justified the fresh advertorial for the position of rector said the newly inaugurated governing council of the institution opted for a fresh process as the previous interview was marred with series of petitions, which puts a question mark on its credibility.

On the decision of the management to appoint Dr Jimah who was 14th on the list, the polytechnic spokesman dismissed the claim saying no one saw the ranking after the interview was conducted.

He also justified the role of the NBTE in the entire process, saying the board was fully involved in the interview process from the outset.