The Rector of Kogi State Polytechnic, Dr Salisu Usman Ogbo, said he inherited an institution where cultists are demi-gods terrorising students and staff on campus.
Ogbo disclosed this on Thursday at a press briefing in Lokoja, while marking the commencement of activities in commemoration of the institution’s fourth combined convocation ceremonies.
The rector disclosed that this set of criminal elements continued to cause havoc within the polytechnic environment before the institution management under his supervision curtailed their negative activities on campus.
According to him, the present administration of the polytechnic succeeded in tackling the monster of insecurity by fortifying the institution’s security architecture through effective intelligence gathering on the activities of cultists and other criminal groups.
Ogbo said: “These efforts have yielded tremendous results, including the arrest of some students and non-students with guns and other dangerous weapons and illicit drugs while making attempts to enter the campus.
“The security efforts and strategies also helped us discover the notorious syndicate known as “Magic Centre” at Sarkin Norma, where students were nabbed while writing examinations with our question papers and booklets.
“You will also agree with me that the Polytechnic before now had deeply disturbing image issues bordering on negative reports and other threatening social vices.
“We also inherited an institution without a functional student hostel, deficient in ICT, polarised along ethnic lines, untidy physical environment with dilapidated infrastructure and general indiscipline amongst staff and students.
“The Polytechnic also had a dented image and severed relationships with relevant funding agencies due to failed contracts and abandoned projects spanning over 10 years.”
He said further that the polytechnic had problems with accreditation across virtually all programmes for over nine years, in addition to problems with accumulated convocations after turning out students at both the National Diploma and Higher National Diploma levels.
“To restore the lost glory of the institution, we introduced the Three-R mission of “Repair, Reform and Restore,” which we have been implementing frontally through consultation and a committee system,” he stated.
According to the rector, 249 students would be graduating with distinctions at the fourth combined convocation ceremony.
He also disclosed that 145 students will be graduating with distinctions at the national diploma level, while 104 will be graduating with distinctions at the higher national diploma level.
“A total of 7,653 students are graduating with national diplomas in various programmes, while 4,427 students are graduating with higher national diplomas in various programmes,” he added.
