Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has announced a N2bn intervention fund for various infrastructural developments at the state-owned Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Ojere, Abeokuta.
The Governor also announced a cash award of N2.5m each for the best-graduating students from the 2015/2016 to the 2023/2024 academic sessions. Abiodun announced this at the 15th combined convocation of the polytechnic, covering nine academic sessions from 2016 to 2024. The Governor regretted that the decision of former Governor Ibikunle Amosun to relocate the polytechnic to Ipokia, with a change of name to Ogun State Polytechnic, proved to be a setback for the hitherto blossoming institution. He said the challenge of returning the institution to its glorious past was one of the early challenges his administration had to crack.
He lamented that the policy had caused the 46-year-old polytechnic, boasting a student population of about 30,000, to decline to as low as 5,000 students. Abiodun said it took conscious efforts to revitalise the flagship institution, as he was happy that the school was now coming back to life with about 13,000 students. He said this was achieved after several trips to the National Board of Technical Examinations, the regulatory body for polytechnic education in the country, coupled with the help of the fact-finding Committee set up to resuscitate the institution.
“Let me use this opportunity to unveil some of the intervention projects that we want to embark upon in the polytechnic. We shall be building a 500-seater ultramodern lecture theatre. We shall also be constructing the road leading to the auditorium of the polytechnic, building a well-equipped modern library, a building for the accountancy department, some other road projects, all of these interventions stand at N2bn,” he said.
He added, “For the best-graduating student for each session, there is also a cash prize of N2.5m.” The Governor also challenged the 51,000 graduating students to be daring, innovative, and make a positive impact on the world. He said, “To the graduating students, the future may have its challenges, but it also holds endless possibilities. You must, therefore, be daring, innovative and resilient. Let the knowledge and values you acquired here in the polytechnic be your driving force to be change agents.”
