The accreditation of Abia State Polytechnic, which had been revoked by the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) due to the institution’s failure to pay employee salaries and allowances for more than 30 months, has been reinstated.
On Wednesday, August 31, Eze Chikamnayo, the Abia State commissioner of information and strategy, said this in Umuahia, the state capital.
Recall that Fatima Abubakar, the head of the board’s communications department, announced the withdrawal of accreditation of Abia Poly on Tuesday, July 19, citing the institution’s failure to pay its staff, who are saddled with over 30 months arrears in salary and allowances.
According to Abubakar, one of the essential components of the board’s normative instruments for quality assurance in the polytechnics and Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions within her purview is regular wage payment.
“The polytechnic’s governing council and management made repeated broken pledges to clear the backlog of salary arrears and assure regular payment of staff salaries.”
“The board went above and beyond by writing to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, informing him of the polytechnic’s precarious predicament, but all to no purpose.”
“The board had called the polytechnic’s attention to the consequences of unpaid salary, including the suspension of quality assurance visits.”
Many Abians were outraged at the time, pointing accusing fingers at the state governor and questioning the cause for such extraordinary move taken without considering the consequences for students, their parents, and other institutional stakeholders.
Nonetheless, Chikamnayo claimed that the restoration of accreditation was motivated by the fact that the wellbeing of the state’s residents has always been of the foremost priority to the administration of Okezie Ikeazu, above all other legalistic concerns.
“As a result, Okezie Victor Ikpeazu rose to the occasion, spurred by the fact that, above all other legalistic concerns, the wellbeing of our citizenry has always been of primary importance to his administration.”
“The achievement of this unusual feat on time has been made possible not only by our education-loving governor’s prompt provision of 450 million Naira to bail out the Institution from their self-inflicted malaise, but also by the immediate adoption of far-reaching reforms aimed at establishing sustainable growth and best practises moving forward.”
“On behalf of all well-meaning Abians, both at home and abroad, and the entire membership of the state executive council,” the statement says, “we thank the governor, Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, for his exemplary leadership acumen and undeniable contributions to the welfare and development of Abia State Polytechnic Aba.”