By NATHAN NWAKAMMA

The workforce at the Federal Polytechnic at Ekowe in Bayelsa on Friday described the suspension of an emergency Governing Council meeting to resolve lingering labour dispute on grounds of insecurity as false and misleading.

The workers have maintained that only the removal of the Rector, Dr Agbabiaka Lukman, accused of breach of the Polytechnic Act to pave way for his investigations will guarantee industrial harmony to the institution which was shut down since July 11.

The workers under the auspices of Non Academic Staff Union, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) in a joint statement condemned the false alarm to justify the suspension of the reconciliatory meeting as a ploy to sabotage the Governing Council from investigating the allegations levelled against the Rector.

The joint statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa was signed by leadership of the three unions SSANIP, ASUP and NASU as Joint Action Congress (JAC) of the unions in Federal Polytechnic Ekowe in Bayelsa.

Deacon Charles Arogo, Chairman of the Federal Polytechnic chapter of SSANIP, Mr Etebu Ebifiye, Chairman of NASU and Mr Woyengitonye Abadani, ASUP branch chairman endorsed the statement.

“The newly redeployed Governing Council Chairman, Dr. Baba Gana Ajimi, from Federal Polytechnic Mubi, Adamawa State, upon assumption of duty, moved decisively to end the protracted impasse between the management and staff unions of Federal Polytechnic Ekowe.

“To this end, he convened an emergency Governing Council meeting for 16th September 2025, aimed at restoring order to the institution.

“In a brazen act of sabotage, the Rector, Dr. Agbabiaka Lukman Adegoke, vehemently refused to finance the Council meeting and instead dashed to Abuja to seek political cover.

“Disturbingly, he was actively shielded by the Director, Directorate of Polytechnic and Allied Institutions, Dr. Ejeh A. Usman in the Federal Ministry of Education who jointly instructed the Council Chairman, who was already in Yenagoa, not to proceed with the meeting.

“This last minute directive, citing “insecurity” was issued after most Council Members had travelled to Bayelsa to fulfill their statutory responsibilities.

“This is a calculated plot, executed in connivance, to deliberately escalate the crisis and give false justification to the Rector’s sponsored demand, channelled through the NAPS president to flippantly call for relocation of the institution from the Ekowe community,” the statement read in part.

The workers regretted that resorting to false claims of insecurity where there is none was a clear act of sabotage against the Bayelsa and Federal government’s efforts to attract investments.

According to the unions, the Ekowe community and indeed Bayelsa remain peaceful as ongoing projects in the institution were progressing as contractors were on site in the institution and the ongoing nearby Yenagoa-Oporoma road.

They expressed confidence in the capacity of the newly redeployed Chairman of the Governing Council, Ajimi to resolve the dispute and urged the Minister of Education to allow the Governing Council to play its statutory role.

“It is alarming that the Rector, aided by his Abuja-based collaborators, now masquerades as a “security experts” to suppress a lawful Governing Council meeting, which is a clear case of abated insubordination against the governing council.

“Their excuse stands exposed as false, contradicted by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force, Bayelsa Commands, both of which confirmed there is no secu’ity threat in either Ekowe or Yenagoa.

“Furthermore, the so-called insecurity alarm is nothing but an insult to the people of Bayelsa State, and ungrateful attempt to discredit the tireless efforts of the Bayelsa State Government in sustaining peace and security across the state,” the unions stated..

It would be recalled that Dr Olawale Adebisi, the former Chairman, Governing Council of the Polytechnic, on Aug. 6, set up a five-member panel to investigate allegations raised against the rector, however three weeks ago, Adebisi was swapped with Ajimi.

When contacted for an update on the face-off, Mr Nimizuo Pereseigha, Public Relations Officer of Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe who earlier said that the management remained committed to peaceful resolution of the dispute through dialogue declined comments. (NAN)