BY SEGUN ADEBAYO, ABUJA
Less than 48 hours to the expiration of his illegal six-month tenure procured from the Kaduna Polytechnic Governing Council on November 17, 2021, which ends on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, the Acting Rector, Dr Suleiman Umar, on Monday appointed Dr. A. O. Lawal as the new Director of Academic Planning with the sole intention of ensuring the Council approves his appointment as Dr Umar’s replacement.
The appointment of Dr Lawal as the new Director of Academic Planning Department yesterday has thrown shock waves across the various campuses of the polytechnic and set tongues wagging over the propriety of the new appointment that is seen by many as a deliberate ploy by Dr. Umar to ensure his Man Friday is appointed as his successor.
With the planned imposition of Dr Lawal to serve as a crony of Dr Umar to prepare the way for the eventual appointment of the latter as a substantive rector, a source told this reporter that forces opposed to the planned imposition of a junior officer over his superiors are determined to fight what they describe as ‘black injustice’.
According to a staff member of the school who requested not to be identified: “Dr Umar in a desperate move today, Monday, May 16, 2022, appointed Dr. O. A. Lawal as the Director of Academic Planning in order to perpetuate his hold on the Polytechnic through pushing for the appointment of a proxy. The Director of Academic Planning, Ibrahim Bello Bashir, was asked to hand over to Dr Lawal on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, to pave the way for recommending him as Dr. Umar’s replacement.
“The very reason why the outgoing Rector is not comfortable with Bashir is that the former Director of Academic Planning has refused to join in the destruction of the Polytechnic as exemplified in the leadership of Dr Umar that is fraught with sleazes of monumental proportions.
“Dr Umar is also not comfortable with Dr Rosemary Kato, who is the most senior Deputy Rector in the polytechnic. Going by the rules, and without equivocation, the person qualified to take over from Dr Umar is Dr Kato. However, both Dr Umar and the Registrar, Dr Muhammad Sani Musa, are united in ensuring that their crony is appointed as Umar’s replacement.
“The duo are not comfortable with Dr Kato who has always kept a distant pole from the corruption that has been unleashed on the school for over one year since Dr Umar became the Ag. Rector”.
While Dr Lawal is due to take over from Bashir on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, a letter is already being prepared for onward transmission to the Kaduna Polytechnic Governing Council recommending to members to approve the appointment of Dr Lawal as Umar’s replacement.
According to a source, “The planned imposition of Dr. Lawal as the next Acting Rector is causing anxiety and tension among staffers. How do you appoint someone as a Director on Monday and by Wednesday, you want him to emerge as the Acting Rector of the institution? How do you justify appointing him the Acting Rector after appointing him director less than 48 hours ago? That is purely administrative brigandage”.
This news medium learnt reliably that the Governing Council was informed that it was impossible to appoint Dr Kato on the flimsy excuse that her tenure as a Deputy Rector is expected to end in August.
But another source countered this position on Dr Kato: “It is undeniable that, according to the rules, appointing Dr Kato as the Acting Rector has nothing with subsisting appointment. Since she is still a staff of the polytechnic, as the most senior Deputy Rector, appointing her as Acting Rector is not in conflict with any previous appointment which shall be seen as a new and fresh appointment”.
Explaining why the cabal that is in charge of the polytechnic is not in favour of Dr Kato, the source added: “She is someone who plays by the rules and she is very hardworking. She has absolved herself from the sleaze rocking the school and Dr Kato is one who always insists that the rules be followed”.
As Dr. Umar plans to return to the classroom on Wednesday, May 19, 2022, many staff members of the school said it would amount to an act of illegality for the Governing Council to appoint Dr. Lawal, a crony of Dr Umar who is far a junior officer to Dr Kato and Bashir and not qualified to be so appointed.
“Since the emergence of Dr Umar as Acting Rector, the floods of alleged corruption have been the high points of his management that is now subject of the intense searchlight of anti-graft agencies.
“To allow Dr. Umar to have his way by appointing his crony must be resisted at all costs It is either Dr. Kato be appointed or Bashir, who was removed as Director of Academic Planning be appointed the Acting Rector position or risk the destruction of the polytechnic,” said one of the teachers.
