Why announcement of rector, FEDPOLY, Offa is delayed

Reasons behind delay in announcement of substantive rector for the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State have been discovered.

The Tribune Education gathered that the delay was not unconnected to a fresh investigation into allegations against one of the three candidates vying for the rectorship position being ordered by the minister of Education, AlhajiAdamuAdamu.

It is recalled that three candidates; Dr Ayo Olaosebikan ,MrEgheIgbinehi and Dr Lateef Olatunji, had been shortlisted for the job and had since February undergone series of screenings and interviews, both in the school and in Abuja under the ministry of Education, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the Department of State Security Services (SSS).

Competent sources confided in our reporter that the fresh allegations surfaced last week just while the federal government was about to name a substantive rector for the institution. The allegations, it was gathered, were contained in a petition forwarded to the minister of education by a group said to be against the candidate.

The development, it was learnt forced the minister to direct the announcement of the approval to be put on hold and ordered an investigation into the allegations. The Department of State Security Services (SSS) was asked to do a thorough probe of the issues raised in the petition particularly as it bothers on security.

The minister was said to have called for the record of the three candidates, and after verifying them directed the management of the polytechnic to undertake a probe of the allegations and report back to the ministry this week.

The petitioners, it was gathered, were said to have claimed that the particular candidate had earlier been allegedly indicted for cases of involvement in anti-social activities on campus, extortion and sexual harassment and wondered why the federal government had in the first instance allowed such a candidate to pass through the three stages for consideration for the rectorship.

While none of the stakeholders would want to officially comment of the development, a source in the polytechnic, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter however confirmed the development.

“It is very true and I know that the registrar was sent from Abuja where he had gone to attend a meeting on the issue of Post UMTE, but he was called to another meeting where he was shown the petition and ordered to come back to school and pick the files of the three candidates. He went and when he came back and we heard that he was told to go and set up a committee to look into the allegations. Right now the committee has been meeting and they are supposed to submit their report to the Ministry of Education on Monday”, the source said.