Zulum suspends poly rector, management staff during surprise visit

IN a surprise visit to the Borno Polytechnic, the State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has suspended the entire management of the Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri for six months.

The governor, who was a student of the polytechnic in 1988 and its rector from 2011-2015, was shocked on Tuesday to see workshops and laboratories no longer functioning, even as he described the polytechnic is “dead”.

In a statement by Isa Gusau, the Special Adviser to the Government on Media, the governor visited the polytechnic around 9 am and found most of the laboratories out of use, with some covered by cobwebs and rodents roaming around due to neglect.

Zulum, the statement added, assessed all infrastructure and learning conditions, and thereafter, directed the state Commissioner for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Babagana Mallumbe, to take over the affairs of the school immediately.

“As far as I am concerned, this polytechnic is dead. Nothing is working. As a former student of this polytechnic, a former rector, I have moral stakes in this polytechnic. Insha’Allah, I will not allow this polytechnic to rot during my era as the governor of Borno State. I will do everything possible within my reach to ensure functionality of this institution, insha Allah.

“I have directed the Commissioner for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation to take over the affairs for the next six months. The ministry is to ensure that all the workshops and the laboratories are put back to use as soon as possible,” Zulum was quoted in the statement.

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