Kwara Governor Orders Rector To Step Aside, Sets Up Panel To Probe Polytechnic Protest
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has ordered an investigation into the recent student protest at Kwara State Polytechnic and asked the institution’s Rector, Abdul Jimoh Mohamed, to vacate his position temporarily while the probe is ongoing. The governor approved the setting up of a three-man investigative committee on Wednesday to look into the circumstances that led to the unrest on the polytechnic’s main campus and the breakdown of law and order that followed. The panel is chaired by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Senior Ibrahim Sulyman. Other members are the Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Nafisat Buge, and the Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare, Dr Mrs Mercy Olufunke Shittu. In a statement released in Ilorin by the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu, the committee has been given a two-week window to carry out its assignment and submit its findings to the governor. The committee is expected to investigate both the remote and immediate causes of the protest, assess how the situation was managed, and propose measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. It is also mandated to make broader recommendations that would aid the development and stability of the institution. “The governor has meanwhile directed the Rector of the Polytechnic, Engr. Dr Abdul Jimoh Mohammed, to immediately step aside from his role until further notice, while the most senior Deputy Rector acts in his place in the interim. “The committee will engage with all relevant stakeholders in the course of its assignment,” the commissioner added.