The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Higher National Diploma and Bachelor’s Degree dichotomy bill recently passed by the National Assembly.
Adebanjo Ogunsipe, SSANIP National President, said this in a communique after the quarterly meeting of the union’s General Executive Council on Thursday in Abuja.
Ogunsipe said expediting action on the bill would be in the interest of growth and development of polytechnic education in the country.
“Council wishes to commend the National Assembly for painstakingly seeing the HND/BSc. dichotomy Bill, to a logical conclusion, while it is currently before the president of the country, awaiting his assent,” he said.
He described the non-payment of salaries of some state polytechnics workers as “insensitive”, adding that they were unhappy with the persistent refusal of many state governments to implement the new minimum wage.
Ogunsipe identified some of the polytechnics that were being owed salaries to include Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State (11 months’ unpaid salaries) and Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Osun State (30 months’ unpaid half salaries).
He further listed the others as: College of Technology, Esa-Oke in Osun State (30 months unpaid half salaries) and Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State (28 months’ unpaid salaries).
The unionist added: “Council-in-session, for the umpteenth time, wished to express her displeasure at the unrepentant and seeming deliberate poor funding of Polytechnic education by some state governments in the country.”
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