Dr Okorie Kalu Osonwa has been confirmed the substantive Rector of the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba.
His appointment was approved today; Tuesday, September 28, 2021 by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu who also named Oriaku Chinyere as its Registrar, while Omenihu Friday was chosen as Bursar and Ndulaka Chigozie as the institution’s Librarian. Nwogu Jude was also appointed the Director of Works Services of the 29-year-old polytechnic.
The governor made the announcement when he received the chairman and members of the Governing Council of the Polytechnic who were in Government House, Umuahia to present the report of the Council on the selection of principal officers of the institution.
The Abia chief executive disclosed that the appointment was in with the recommendations of the Governing Council and restated his readiness to ensure that the polytechnic is relocated to its permanent site.
According to him, his administration was looking for ways to ensure academic stability in the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba and therefore charged the institution to remain consistent and stable in order to attract more students as well as to mount programmes that are relevant to the yearnings of the people in its catchment area.
While advising the institution to find ways to maintain industrial harmony and peace, Ikpeazu tasked the board and management to look at ways of attracting funds independently through local and international support grants.
He also charged them to sustain their collaboration with Tedfund to assist the school financially to meet up with its mandate increase its population and assured that the state government will continue to support the institution through the payments of statutory subventions.
“We’ll specifically assist the institution in the forthcoming accreditation of more of its courses”, he further assured and used the opportunity to laud the council and management on job well done and their quick intervention that averted violence by their students last week as a result of protest against a police officer that allegedly raped one of their female students.
Presenting the reports earlier, the chairman, Governing Council of the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Elder John Nwangborogwu identified lack of due process in appointing principal officers as contributing to the challenges bedeviling the institution, saying that the council followed due process by advertising the positions of principal officers and subsequently interviewed all the applicants.
Nwangborogwu also disclosed that the intervention of the council on the protest which the students embarked upon averted bloodshed, pointing out that the protest was staged because of the alleged rape of one of the female students by a policeman and not for any other reason.
He thanked the governor for his intervention on accreditation of some of the courses in the school and urged him to sustain his support to them.
Uche Nwosu is a two time Shell Petroleum PLC award winner in the year 2000;
He won the Shell Award on Investigative Journalism and Environmental Cleanliness.
