RE: SOS: Why Dr Uduak Sunday Ukekpe must go
The attention of the Directorate of Youth Affairs, Ukana Clan Council Youth Leaders, Essien Udim Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, has been drawn to the above captioned letter addressed to The Honourable Minister of Education which was signed by a shadowy group masquerading as “Concerned Youths Leaders of Essien Udim’
In the letter, the group mischievously accused the Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, Dr Uduak Sunday Ukekpe, of “acts of executive high-handedness and abuse of office”, among others.
To us, the “SOS” is clearly an ill-timed attempt by faceless self-centred individuals to truncate the ongoing efforts of the Dr Uduak Sunday Ukekpe-led management of Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, to continue with the massive development and repositioning of the institution which he is being applauded.
These individuals, we believe, may be sponsored by some unscrupulous persons who had earlier been extorting monies from contractors handling projects in the institution and who are also fund of defrauding people with promises of fake admission and employment into the polytechnic. They have no direct relationship or business with the polytechnic management.
However, Honourable Minister, since the exposure of their atrocities against the polytechnic by the Dr Uduak Sunday Ukekpel-ed administration, these fraudulent individuals are not happy that business is no longer as usual.
They have suddenly woken up to the reality that Dr Uduak Sunday Ukekpe has refused to be coerced or intimidated to give into their hitherto demands which are detrimental to the progress of the institution.
The Directorate of Youth Affairs, Essien Udim Local Government Area, hereby refutes the allegations against Dr Uduak Sunday Ukekpe as frivolous, mischievous and totally false. The allegations are not the views of the good people of the host communities.
We can confirm, following our recent tour of facilities of the Polytechnic that Dr Uduak Sunday Ukekpe has put structures on ground to facilitate more accreditation of programmes. Within the past two years, the Polytechnic Administration has strengthened the capacity of its directorates in carrying out their respective functions regarding academic development processes in the polytechnic so as to ensure that future assessment exercises by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) produce positive outcomes.
It is on record that the main campus of the polytechnic had remained underdeveloped for five about years before the appointment of Dr. Uduak Sunday Ukekpe as Rector. But within two years of the Dr Uduak Sunday Ukekpe administration, the site has witnessed massive transformation. And we are sure that in few months to come, the polytechnic will commence activities with massive infrastructural development at the permanent site of the institution.
Dr Uduak Sunday Ukekpe Ph.D, from inception, established a symbiotic relationship between his office and critical stakeholders of the institution. He maintains a culture of consultation and collaboration between management and staff of the institution. This can be attested to by the staffers who are residents and living among us in the host communities. This cordial relationship, we believe, is responsible for the laudable achievements he has recorded in the institution so far; some of which are: completion of library complex, classroom blocks, engineering workshop, and the Polytechnic clinic, together with the 350 capacity auditorium, staff office complex, science laboratory technology complex, School of Environmental Studies complex, Electrical Electronic Engineering complex, and Civil Engineering complex that are about to be completed. This is in addition to the acquiring of high-tech science laboratory technology, engineering, surveying equipment, among others, for the respective departments of the institution. These are physical projects that can be seen by anybody that visits the Polytechnic.
The projects at the Main Campus of the Polytechnic embraced local content through the provision of skilled/unskilled labor and the supply of construction materials during the period of construction. On daily basis, over one hundred youths of the host communities and environs went home with juicy wages. The detractors had constituted themselves to act in between by preventing contractors from having direct access to suppliers of construction materials, and also preventing the recognized Community Laison Officers (CLOs) from doing their work. These did not work out their way. The frustrations arising therefrom are responsible for their grievances with Dr Uduak Sunday Ukekpe.
The claim of poor community relations attitude of the Rector is only a fiction of the imagination of these mischievous elements, some of whom are not from the host communities. There exist a good social and working relationships between the Rector and all sections of the host communities. The Clan Council and the various youths bodies have been interacting fruitfully with the Rector on the way forward for the progress of the institution. These interactions also made it possible for the youths to wade off those that were disrupting progress of work at the main campus of the institution before now. It will interest you to know, Sir, that some of the sponsors of the malicious letter were deeply involved in the disruption of work at the polytechnic site. We can, therefore, say that the sin of the Rector is in the area of stopping the harassments of contractors and extortions by certain individuals.
Dr. Ukekpe and his management team are not planning to conduct employment exercise without due process, and have not employed anybody in recent time. We have recently investigated and found out that nothing of such was planned. If such an exercise was even contemplated, we would have been duly informed as one of the stakeholders. Therefore, the information about a “sinister plan by the Rector to employ over 100 of his kinsmen through the back door…” is totally incorrect. These agents of destruction are not happy that employment plan by the present management of the polytechnic will be done according to government laid down procedures as enquirers have been made to know. Most of these faceless detractors are not aware of government procedures for employment in its agencies.
The Honourable Minister of Education, the polytechnic community, the host communities, the Government of Akwa Ibom State, National Board for Technical Education, and the general public are hereby advised to disregard this virulent false and embarrassing letter.
Mischief makers, detractors and enemies of the Polytechnic must realize that their campaign of calumny against the Federal Polytechnic , Ukana, has failed. The polytechnic has been repositioned by a competent hand and it is bound to be great.
Let the peace be!
Signed:
Cmrd. Raymond Ekpe Jp.
DG/Chapter Youth Leader, Essien Udim
Unwana Idiong (Mkpaeto)
Ukana Clan Council Youth Leader
Uduak Akpan Akpan
Ukana Onuk Youth President
Edet Udo Matthew
Ikot Oku Etim Youth President
Odiongenye Akpabio
Ukana Ikot Ntuen Youth President
