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The group described the call by ASUP-Bida Poly branch as the height of ignorance, sheer mischief and a total disregard to the laws guiding Rector:s appointments.
It therefore asked the Minister to ignore the ASUP since the reappointment was done constitutionally.
A statement signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the group, Dr. Victor Okolobah and Mr. Abdulkadir Abdullahi Yahaya respectively, and made available to Journalists on Wednesday in Minna faulted the move by ASUP leaders, describing it as self-serving, callous and altogether borne out of mischief.
The statement also maintained that President Muhammadu Buhari acted in accordance with the law when he reappointed Dr. Abubakar Abdul Dzukogi for a second term of four years in 2019, adding that “the reappointment is in line with Section 8 (6)c of the new Polytechnics Act and also in compliance with the extant Civil Service Rules.”
“We expect the Union to follow the law and respect the decision of constituted authorities. The appointment letter conveying Mr. President’s approval emphatically stated that he will serve for another four years and leave office in 2023.
” The Minister should just ignore the Union because due process was duly followed in reappointing the Rector for another term. Now, since the Union is already in court over the matter, there is no need pressuring the Minister to do anything now. Let parties to the case patiently await the verdict of the court on the said matter.” the statement further reads in part.
The group, however, commended the current wave of infrastructural development in the polytechnic and called on the union and other stakeholders to give peace a chance.
The statement stressed that, “we are aware of the Rector’s plans to further develop the institution better than he has done in the previous years and all hands must be on deck to give him tremendous and necessary support to succeed especially in consolidating on the good works he has started.”
They also advised ASUP to concentrate its energies on activities that provide immediate or quick response to the multi-faceted problems bedeviling Nigerian tertiary institutions.
“We expect ASUP to assist our government and the polytechnic sector, particularly in charting a new course for beneficial research and innovation to take firm roots in these institutions rather than engaging in a wild goose chase.” the statement added.
