Stakeholders of the Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, in Bayelsa State, have demanded the immediate removal of the Rector of the 18-year-old institution, Dr Agbabiaka Lukeman Adegoke, for alleged wrongdoings.
The Joint Action Congress (JAC), of the two unions, Senior Staff Association of Polytechnics (SSANIP), and the National Association of Staff Union (NASU), have also called for the Rector’s resignation or removal without further delay.
The stakeholders, through their spokesperson, Dr Jacob Sigah, said that the Rector has taken advantage of the crisis in the Polytechnic to spread false propaganda about insecurity within the school environment.
Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, was established in 2007 and had been functioning seamlessly without many problems until July 2025, when the institution was shut down as a result of the issues involving the Rector and the staff.
The staff, all of whom are members of the SSANIP and NASU, were accusing the Rector of non-remittance of union dues, lack of promotions, and spreading false rumours about insecurity in the institution.
Following the closure of the polytechnic, the Rector frustrated the efforts of the governing council to investigate the lingering crisis, alleging that it was unsafe to hold the council meeting in the institution’s premises.
The Rector, Adegoke, reportedly told the chairman of the governing council that he would prefer the meeting to be held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, rather than on the campus of the school.
The chairman of the governing council, Dr Babagana Anjimi ,had directed that the board meeting of the institution be scheduled for the board room of the polytechnic in Ekowe.
But the Rector opposed the chairman’s directive and preferred that the meeting should take place at the liaison office of the polytechnic in Yenagoa. This disagreement has stalled the holding of the meeting while the institution’s gates are still shut against the students and the staff.
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In a letter addressed to the chairman of the governing council, Dr Babagana Anjimi, the two unions asked the Rector, Adegoke, to resign his position and leave the school since he does not consider himself safe on the campus.
Consequently, the SSANIP and NASU petitioned the governing council not to allow the Rector further access to the Polytechnic funds, insisting that the school environment was safe and conducive for academic work.
The unions stated, “We, the Joint Action Congress,8 JAC, of SSANIP and NASU, express deep concern by the claims of the Rector that our institution is unsafe for council meetings. We clarify that Ekowe has no security challenges except for the ongoing crisis between the Rector and the unions, which hasn’t compromised safety”.
The stakeholders were in agreement with the unions and demanded that the Rector should take the honourable step since he was not too sure of his security again and described the allegations of insecurity as a deliberate fabrication.
The stakeholders reviewed some publications by the unions, exposing the alleged insecurity lapse, and accused the Rector of undermining a lawful governing council’s authority.
Dr Sigah, on behalf of the stakeholders, debunked the claim that Ekowe, the polytechnic host community, was not safe as a false alarm, insisting that it was a smear campaign to justify the Rector’s quest for the relocation of the institution.
He explained that Ekowe has remained peaceful and was never a party to the internal dispute.
