THE management of the Federal Polytechnic of Ekowe in Southern Ijaw Local Area of Bayelsa State has called for federal and state government’s intervention as coastal erosion has claimed 10 per cent of the facilities in the premier oil and gas-based tertiary institution in Nigeria.
osprimetv.com Education also learnt that the polytechnic is yet to be connected to the national grid, a situation that forces management to run power generating sets for 20 hours, affecting productivity of staff and students.
Addressing newsmen at the liaison office of the institution in Yenagoa, the rector, Dr. Seiyaboh Idaho, speaking through his executive assistant, Alagha Bibi-Welson, explained that the institution also suffers from security and perennial flood challenges, which has forced about 5000 students of Bayelsa origin to seek admission in neighboring Delta State Polytechnic.
He also disclosed that the issue of staff salary shortfall which had been the cause of incessant strike actions at the institution had been permanently resolved and that this has boosted the morale of staff.
The rector noted that it took the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to rectify the situation which had been the cause of recurring staff-management squabbles for many years.
He said that the polytechnic now enjoys stable working relationship amongst management, staff and students, and now has about 4,000 students as against a total of just 40 students in 2017 when he just assumed duties.
He noted that but for the COVID-19 pandemic which compelled tertiary institutions to suspend academic activities, the school had concluded plans to admit over 1,000 students in 2020 to grow the student population to over 5000.
Idaho, however, hinted that despite the appreciable achievements recorded under him, the institution is not without some challenges, including shortage of staff and accommodation, insecurity, coastal erosion and lack of access road.
The polytechnic sited at Ekowe, a coastal settlement by the bank of River Nun in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa, can only be assessed by passenger boats.
