TheĀ Kwara state Polytechnic has decried the massive encroachment on its land thereby making the institution porous, describing it as one of the major challenges the Polytechnic is facing, especially in the area of security.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday in Ilorin, the state capital, on the institution’s 28th Convocation ceremony, the Rector Engr. Dr. Abdul Jimoh Mohammed, appeal to the state government, Alumni Association ot the Polytechnic as well as philanthropists to come to the aid of the Institution in
constructing a perimeter fence round the Polytechnic campus towards enhancing security.
“The Polytechnic is currently occupying six percent of its land mass, 41 percent of the entire land mass has been encroached upon in such a way that it enveloped the six percent. The remaining 53 percent is not accessible because the Polytechnic will have to pass through the encroached portion before it can access the virgin land,” he regretted.
According to the Rector, other challenges facing the Polytechnic includes a inadequate funding which, he said, makes it difficult to carry out comprehensive renovations of all the obsolete and ageing structures of the institution.
The Rector, who disclosed that this year’s Convocation Ceremony is for 2021/2022 National Diploma and Higher National Diploma graduands of the Polytechnic, said that despite the challenges, the Polytechnic has, through prudent management of the limited financial resources, been able to cope successfully by ensuring prompt payments of staff salaries and financing other recurrent expenditures.
He disclosed that the management also embarked on the renovation of all abandoned hostels in the Institution, adding that the hostels have sufficient facilities such as 24-hour solar light, regular water supply and 24/7 internet connectivity.
He said: “In support of the state government’s policy of zero tolerance for abandoned projects,
the management has also decided to renovate and complete all abandoned projects within the Institution. It is apposite to mention that the present IJMB and Medical
Diagnostic Centres were buildings which had been abandoned for years before being renovated now.”
As part of efforts to boost the internal revenue generation of the Polytechnic, the Rector said a Micro Finance Bank embarked upon by the institution would soon take off, while application for its registration is in the final stage of approval at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
