Participants in the three- day mini-summit convened by Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to find a solution to the problems of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, yesterday recommended a probe into the disbursement of N2 billion subvention released by the state government.
The school is facing a lot of troubles, including financial difficulties, and Ikpeazu asked the stakeholders to suggest ways to fix the problems. The stakeholders comprised of government officials, lecturers and trade unions and others.
In a communiqué after the meeting, the group lamented the inability of the institution to pay salaries and pensions despite the money released by the state government.
They told the school to pay workers at least one-month salary within two weeks. They also asked the polytechnic to settle all outstanding salaries and pensions from October.
The meeting urged the state government to review the law establishing the school and constitute a Visitation Panel to the polytechnic every five years.
The stakeholders called for measures to plug all financial leakages and prevent unnecessary expenditure. They recommended the screening of all workers in the polytechnic to fish out those not qualified to occupy their current positions.
The meeting asked the state government to always release money to the school early to take care of its commitments. The stakeholders, who resolved to meet again in the next six months to assess the progress made regarding their recommendations, urged the Governing Council and Management to review the recent staff rationalisation within six months.
