Already, a section of the school community has risen against the renewal of the tenure by the state government, while another, particularly the students, were said to be in support of the development.
The development assumed another dimension, when students and members of staff woke up to discover some posters being pasted in strategic places on the campus, campaigning against Mohammed.
Apart from the posters, flyers were circulated by the group that was against the rector, saying the governor and visitor to the school, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, should appoint a fresh hand to run the polytechnic.
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Sources said majority of those clamouring for a change in the institution were members of staff, who felt that the institution did not witness development in the first four years of Mohammed’s tenure.
The argument of the antagonists of the governor was that there was need to raise the bar in the institution to allow it compete favourably with its peers in the country.
They however claimed that the agitation over the post had been turned to an ethnic one, as some of them that were of Ebira extraction were accused of working against a fellow Ebira man.
The situation in the campus had aggravated to the level that the supporters of the rector had also pasted his posters conspicuously within the campus, calling on government to grant him another four-year term.
The president of the National Association of Kogi State Students (NAKOSS), Kogi State Polytechnic chapter, Usman Attaja, said the students were not against another term for the rector.
He confirmed that posters were pasted on campus to support the rector, saying that he had not done anything bad to prevent him from being reappointed as the rector of the institution.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the institution, Luke Yakubu, however said it was true that the tenure of the rector would end in September, saying that might have led to the agitation on the campus.
According to him, “the tenure will be ending by September and for such position, there will be people who are eyeing the seat. So, it is expected that he has supporters and some people will be against him. The final decision lies with the governor, he has the right to either reappoint him or appoint another person.”
He, however, said that security personnel on the campus would not allow the situation to escalate to the level of open confrontation or crisis, noting the institution’s environment was peaceful.
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