Sanwo-Olu Appoints New LASPOTECH Rector

Sanwo-Olu Appoints New LASPOTECH Rector

By Funmi Ogundare

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has appointed a chief lecturer at the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTEH), Ikorodu, Dr. Nurudeen Olaleye, as the institution’s 11th rector.

Sanwo-Olu, made the announcement through the office of his Special Adviser on Education (SAE), Mr. Tokunbo Wahab.

The Head, Public Affairs, Office of the Special Adviser on Education, Yejide Omolase, in a statement said the appointment was sequel to interview conducted by the Institution’s Governing Council and its subsequent recommendation. The statement said the appointment was for five years single term and takes effect from December 1, 2020 at the expiration of the tenure of the Acting Rector, Mr. Olumide Olusola Metilelu.

The announcement has put an end to many weeks of lobbying and high wired politicking among 11 candidates who were recently interviewed by the institution’s Appointment and Promotion Committee (A&PC), a relevant organ of the school’s governing council.

In September, the committee, which was chaired by the chairperson of the governing council, Rasheed Ojikutu, a professor at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, had graded the applicants based on their performance with the trio of Mr. Olaleye, Olumide Metilelu and Abiodun Okunnu, ranking first, second and third respectively.

Mr. Metilelu, the incumbent acting Rector, was the deputy to the immediate past rector of the institution, Samuel Sogunro.

Mr Sogunro’s administration was characterised by a series of crises including constant conflicts with all the labour unions on the campus over allegations of corruption, victimisation, militarisation of the institution, poor welfare condition, and abuse of power and privileges, among numerous others.

The government was compelled to set up a visitation panel to the institution in 2019 towards ascertaining the immediate and remote causes of the crises that rocked the school, which kept the students home for many months.

Some of the demands of the angry workers presented to the panel were the removal of the former rector, appointment of competent hands into the governing council, merit-driven appointment of another rector, payment of owed arrears of allowances, among others.

The panel has since submitted its report, but the government has failed to release the White Paper many months after.

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