The Federal Ministry Of Education is set to reverse the controversial tenure elongation of Abubakar Abdul Dzukogi as Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State, SaharaReporters has gathered.
A top official of the ministry told our correspondent that the decision was reached following public backlash at the appointment of Dzukogi as sole administrator of the institution after an exclusive report by SaharaReporters.
The source said the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, acknowledged that Dzukogi’s earlier extension had raised serious litigations at the Industrial Court in Abuja and Niger State, forcing the latest position to be reached by the ministry’s hierarchy.
Adamu, who is said to have admitted that President Muhammadu Buhari was misled into reappointing Dzukogi as Rector of the institution, had initiated moves that will reverse the situation as soon as possible.
“The minister believes the Rector’s extension was causing the Ministry of Education serious embarrassment. The ministry is already taking adequate measures to correct the anomalies in Dzukogi’s appointment,” the source said.
Section 16(4) of the Federal Polytechnics (Amendment) Act, 2019 states that “There shall be no sole administration in any polytechnic in Nigeria” while Section 14(4) of the same Act states that “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Pensions Reform Act, the state compulsory retirement age of staff of polytechnics shall be 65 years”.
SaharaReporters gathered that the act regulating retirement age was breached in the re-appointment of Dzukogi as Rector of the polytechnic after his retirement from service.
As at the time he was reappointed, Dzukogi had only one year, eight months and 10 days left to attain the statutory retirement age of 65 years.
A director in the Ministry of Education said to have helped perpetuate the academic fraud retired this month.
