Kogi Poly students protest, demand removal of rector

students of the Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, on Friday, staged a protest and demanded for the removal of the rector of the institution, Alhaji Mohammed Isa.

The students, who embarked on the protest early in the day, chased out the rector and other top management staff from their offices and prevented human and vehicular movements in and out of the campus located along Lokoja-Okene road.

According to them, they were protesting against non-availability of basic amenities like water, electricity and toilets in hostels and classrooms in the school.

They also protested against the lack of functional clinic in the school, while accusing the management of being insensitive to their plight.

According to them, lack of toilet in the school was causing an embarrassment to them as they usually go into the bush around the campus to defecate even in the middle of the night.

The students also carried placards with various inscriptions like “Remove our rector, we have lost confidence in him, “We need basic amenities in our school, government help,” among others.

Speaking on behalf of the students, Omale Usman said the students had to embark on a peaceful demonstration since their series of complaints to the management of the institution yielded no results.

He lamented that necessary hostels and lecture facilities needed by the students for a conducive teaching and learning atmosphere at the institution were not provided.

“We pay school fees but we don’t have light, no toilet facilities and regular power supply. If you enter the campus, everywhere is smelling because students are forced to defecate in the open,” he said.

Apart from the rector, the students also chased away the leadership of their student union, accusing them of compromise.

Addressing the protesters, the Commissioner for Education in the state, Dr Sunday Tolorunleke, appealed to them to bear with the state government.

He said the students were protesting for their rights, saying government had already directed the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) to restore the disconnected electricity on the campus.