Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has approved the convocation of a mini summit of critical stakeholders of Abia State Polytechnic (AbiaPoly), Aba, to find lasting solutions to the challenges being experienced by the Polytechnic, especially with regard to regular payment of staff, and repositioning it to take a leading role in the training of next generation technologists equipped to drive innovation in the state in particular and the country in general.
The Governor who recently appointed a new Rector for the institution expressed worry about the current operating structure of the polytechnic that has made it difficult for the institution to regularly meet its wage obligations, and the perennial industrial actions by staff unions, a tide the Governor hopes to stem forthwith.
To this end, Governor Ikpeazu has invited the National President of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Comrade Anderson Ezeibe, his counterpart in NASUP as well as the local Chairmen and Secretaries of the relevant unions to join the management team of the institution, state ministry of education and relevant government officials, to a 3-day summit which is expected to hold from 20th – 22nd of September, 2020, under the Chairmanship of the Governor.
According to Governor Ikpeazu, “we cannot afford to allow the bleeding at Abiapoly to continue as the institution is key to the realization of our dream of leading the rest of the country in technological advancement as our forebears did with “ikpu uzu”. It is therefore necessary for us to sit down and collectively agree on a way forward that will ensure that sfaff, students and other stakeholders are happy to contribute their quota to realizing the dreams that led to the setting up of the institution in the first place.”
