As the race for the rectorship of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State heats up, renowned academic, Dr. Basilia Igbokwe is set to make history as the second woman to head the institution.
The first was Dr. Celestina Njoku, who administered the institution between 2010 and 2018 and now the Vice Chancellor of a private university.
To show her preparedness to further shatter the glass ceiling, Dr. Igbokwe floored seven other contestants to place first in the series of tests conducted by the Rector Selection Board.
Trailing behind her in the second position is a one-time Acting Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr. Onyemenonu, C. C while Dr. Okafor Okoreaffia placed a distant third.
The rectorship selection resource personnel and former Rector, Abia State Polytechnic Aba, Professor Okorie Kalu Osonwa submitted the results of the screening on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.
The outcome of the screening exercise as published by the Selection Board has triggered reactions from the Polytechnic community.
While the generality of the polytechnic community have been celebrating and jubilating over the superlative performance of Dr Basilia Igbokwe, few who were supporters of the others who did not perform well have been trying to discredit the screening process.
Despite pressure on the ASUPNEK leadership to write a petition, the union chairman Comrade Stanley Nwadike has distanced himself and the union from any frivolous petition.
The host community has formally commended the process.
The polytechnic community appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to endorse the screening undertaken by the Selection Board by approving Dr. Igbokwe as the new Rector of the institution.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Governing Council of the Polytechnic, Hon. Henry Ikechukwu Ikoh has expressed satisfaction with the screening processes which he described as excellent and of high standard.
The Council Chairman commended the Selection Board and team of resource persons for what he described as their professionalism, commitment, transparency and painstaking service rendered for the best interest of the Polytechnic in making sure that the most qualified academics make the final list that will be sent to the presidency.
The Council Chairman promised to uphold the lawful procedures by forwarding the three merited names to the Presidency for the final selection of the most qualified individual.
Hon Ikoh emphasized government’s dedication to appointing competent leaders for educational institutions to ensure the overall well-being and academic growth of students.
Similarly, a Chief Lecturer in the Polytechnic has reacted to the report by the opposition, making the rounds in the social media over the outcome of the screening and accusations against the Governing Council Chairman.
The Chief Lecturer who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the report as a calculated and fabricated attempt to smear and discredit the character of the highly esteemed Governing Council Chairman and his Council members.
According to him; "Firstly, in line with the Polytechnic Act, the council does not install candidate rather the council can only select three candidates out of the lot while the President finally appoints one. Therefore, the council cannot have any vested interest at this point.
"Secondly, there is absolute peace and tranquility in the institution, given that the council has rather danced to the tune of these detractors, who were the beneficiaries of the last administration that impoverished and balkanized the institution, carrying out clandestine activities among the staff, instilled fear and demotivated the staff and students from carrying out any meaningful academic activity.
"Thirdly, the council conducted the most transparent and democratic interview for the post of a new Rector in the history of the institution to the extent that the members of the selection board loyal to the detractors who were smuggled into the selection team had the audacity to reject a resource personnel after their failed attempt to induce him into compromising.
"The council also danced to their tune by changing the resource person few hours before the interview. The candidates all participated in the interview which was observed and certified by all agencies and representatives concerned as free and fair.
"When some of the selection board members who were loyal to the detractors noticed that their plans to allocate frivolous marks to their anointed candidates was checkmated by the council who gave them written exam and computer based test, with marking scheme such that they cannot allocate subjective scores to them, they decided to foment trouble through petitions and name-calling.
"Finally, this Dr. Basilia Igbokwe who is one of the contestants is a highly qualified candidate from the institution. Dr. Basillia Igbokwe, apart from holding a Ph.D in English is the only contestant to have obtained OND and HND in Public Administration from the Polytechnic, therefore knows the polytechnic sector in and out which stands her out as the best candidate for the job. It may interest you to note that some current and past rectors in the polytechnic sector in Nigeria have the same Ph.D in English, for instance, the current rector of Federal Polytechnic Ede in Osun State and the former rector of Abia State Polytechnic .
“This Dr. Basilia Igbokwe has been screened and qualified by two successive council of the institution including the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) that regulates the activities of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria.
"Dr. Basillia Igbokwe is a highly proficient and talented chief lecturer who has emerged tops in the previous interviews and will still do so any time any day, therefore, the case of revealing the questions to her by the opposition is baseless and unimaginable.
“No wonder she performed excellently well and better than her counterparts who can barely express themselves, whose qualifications were either doctored, panel-beaten or obtained from unaccredited institutions banned by the National Universities Commission (NUC)”.
He enjoined the public, the Ministry of Education and the Federal Government to ignore those unscrupulous elements and their false alarm.
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