Nasarawa House of Assembly, on Tuesday, began investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the protest staged by students of Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic (IMAP), Lafia on March 11.
Chairman, House Committee on Education and Science, Mr Daniel Ogazi, made this known when members of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), management staff and NASU appeared before the first sitting of the committee, in Lafia.
Oga Ogazi (APC-Kokona East) said that the committee decided to invite them in order to get first-hand information that would assist it in carrying out its investigation.
He said that the Speaker, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, had mandated his committee to investigate the matter and submit its report to the assembly.
“We want to get first-hand information from you, which will help our committee to do a thorough job.
“We want to assure that any person or group of persons found wanting at the end of the day will be dealt with decisively, no matter how highly-placed he may be.
“By God’s grace, our resolution will be implemented by the governor to serve as deterrent to others.
Ogazi described the students’ unrest, which resulted in destruction of property in the institution, as unfortunate and uncalled for.
He urged ASUP to continue to be up and doing in ensuring the development of the institution.
The lawmaker also called for team work among staff members of the institution and support for the new management.
ASUP Chairman in the institution, Mr Slyvester Aku, while presenting the position of the body to the committee, called for punitive measures against perpetrators in order to serve as deterrent to others.
“The allegations that management had closed school fees’ portal and increased tuition fees are false, as registration was going on when we heard that students were protesting,” he said.
Aku also commended Gov. Abdullahi Sule for the appointment of the new management team, who are members of the institution.
“This is the first time that we have substantive rector from the institution. We thank the governor for appointing the management team within the institution,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports management of the polytechnic, led by the Rector, Dr Justina Kotso, also appeared before the committee.
Kotso, while presenting report before the committee, dismissed allegations that the school authorities closed school fees’ portal and increased tuition fees.
She told the committee that management had deployed new portal for school fees payment in order to block all loopholes.
“When I came on board, the management met an analogue method of school fees payment and we sat down to deploy a new portal in order to block leakages,” the rector said.
The NASU Chairman in the institution, Mr. Danlami Yaro, also confirmed the students’ protest to the committee, saying that the act was condemnable in its totality.
He said that the union was happy with the new management and its policy concerning the portal for school fees payment by payment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on March 11, students of the institution had staged a protest over alleged closure of school fees’ portal and increase in school fees by the institution’s authorities, leading to destruction of property. (NAN)
