Sack looms in Abia polytechnic staff over falsification of credentials

 Unspecified number of staff of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, will soon lose their  job and others would be down graded from their present positions.

This followed the recommendation of a panel set up in January by the state government to audit and verify credentials of staff of the polytechnic.

It was alleged that several workers in the institution secured employment with fake certificates and that many unqualified staff of the polytechnic are holding positions they did not merit.

Based on this complaint from the public, the government set up a panel, headed by Mr. Chibuike Nwokoukwu, which submitted its report to Governor Theodore Orji, weekend.

Presenting its interim report, Nwokoukwu said the panel sat regularly, interviewed all academic and non-academic staff of the institution, looked at the originals of their certificates and retained the photocopies, which had been forwarded to the issuing institutions for actual confirmation of their authenticity.

He disclosed that the interim report contained four annexures, which included the names of staff recommended by the panel to be downgraded from their present position as well as others recommended for outright disengagement from the polytechnic.

Nwokoukwu urged the government to implement the recommendations in the interest of the state in general and polytechnic in particular.

Receiving the report, Governor Orji assured that the report would be implemented and advised unqualified staff of the polytechnic to avoid being disgraced out by the government.

The governor said that as an institution of learning, both academic and non- academic staff in the school ought to be adequately qualified, pointing out that as a centre of excellence, it should not harbor those with fraudulent certificates.

Orji, however, blamed the overbloated workforce of the polytechnic on members of the Governing Council who use their position to employ their cronies without waiver from the government.

He restates that the essence of setting up the panel was to investigate the activities in the institution according to the wishes of the people of the state and maintained that government will be justified to take action on the recommendation of the panel.

To that end, he assured that his administration will implement the recommendation of the panel and pointed out that the exercise is not aimed at witch-hunting anyone.