Offa Polytechnic Resumes Academic Sctivities, After Few Days of Industrial Dispute

 

Academic activities have resumed at the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State, with students commencing their suspended semester examinations following the resolution of the recent disagreement between the management and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).

The development came after ASUP suspended its withdrawal of services, which began on September 15, 2026, over concerns surrounding the security situation at the institution and the conduct of Governing Council meetings outside the polytechnic.

The semester examinations, which were earlier suspended amid the dispute, resumed yesterday across the two campuses of the institution.

The disagreement had centred largely on the decision of the Governing Council to hold its meetings in Ilorin, the state capital, rather than within the polytechnic premises.

ASUP had raised objections to the arrangement, alleging that the management misrepresented the security situation to the Federal Ministry of Education in order to justify the relocation of the council meetings.

In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Governing Council and signed by the ASUP Chairman, Comrade Yemi Alabi, the union said the decision to withdraw its services was prompted by what it described as security concerns raised by the institution itself.

The letter, titled “Re: Holding of Governing Council Meetings Outside the Polytechnic,” also accused the council of failing to address longstanding issues affecting staff welfare and working conditions.

According to the union, “our institution has been plagued with unprecedented industrial disharmony over the year and this instability has been reiterated by the union to be hinged on poor working conditions, declining staff welfare, uninhabitable working environment et al. But the council has turned a blind eye on these palpable concerns.”

Alabi said the council had cited insecurity as the reason for relocating its meetings to Ilorin, adding that the matter was revisited during a meeting on September 12.

He alleged that the development raised questions about the discharge of the oversight responsibilities of the council and the administration of the institution.

The union consequently called for the immediate suspension of the Rector, Engineer Kamoru O. Kadiri, over alleged malfeasance, while declaring a vote of no confidence in the principal officers and the Governing Council.

It also stated that the withdrawal of academic staff services would remain in force until the security concerns were addressed by the Federal Ministry of Education.

However, the Rector, speaking with newsmen yesterday, confirmed that normal academic activities had resumed at the institution.

“As I am talking to you, our semester exams are going,” Kadiri said.

On the controversy over the venue of Governing Council meetings, the Rector explained that the council had sought and obtained approval from the Federal Ministry of Education to hold the meetings outside the polytechnic.

In an August letter to the Minister of Education, the Rector, on behalf of the Governing Council, explained that the decision was not intended to undermine the statutory functions of the council.

He said the arrangement was “a temporary and precautionary administrative measure adopted in the overriding interest of institutional stability, effective governance, personal security and the uninterrupted discharge of the council’s statutory functions.”

The Federal Ministry of Education subsequently approved the request.

In a letter signed by the Director, Polytechnic Education and Allied Institutions, Mrs Igwe Amy K., on behalf of the Minister, the ministry directed that the council and its statutory committee meetings could be held temporarily at suitable venues outside the polytechnic.

The letter stated: “I am directed to convey you the approval of the Hon Minister, for the Governing Council and Council’s statutory committee’s meetings to be convened at temporarily suitable venues outside the confines of the polytechnic due to security reasons, as you requested.”

With the resumption of academic activities and examinations, attention is now expected to shift towards addressing the underlying disagreements between the union, management and Governing Council to prevent a recurrence of the disrupting academic activities.