By GARBA MUHAMMAD, Kaduna

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, wade in and stop the sale of Kaduna Polytechnic’s residential quarters.

Kaduna Polytechnic chapter of ASUP made the call while addressing journalists on Friday, disclosing that about 400 housing units belonging to the institution have been valued and offered with stringent conditions that will only make the houses available to strangers, at the detriment of the polytechnic’s security.

Speaking on behalf of the Union, ASUP Chairman, Engr. Abubakar Abdulllahi, who was flanked by other executives and several members of the Union, said the entire process leading to the grant of offer, payment of application fees and deadlines for the initial down payment have been shrouded in secrecy without the involvement of the Union.

ASUP recalled that, former Minister of Lands and Housing, Ms Ama Pepple, had said in 2011, while leading the Presidential Implementation Committee on tour of the Kaduna Polytechnic’s quarters, that, the property shall not be sold.

The chairman said: “The Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development via a circular referenced NASS/S/COH/20/05 dated 7th November, 2012, affirmed that the institution’s properties were institutional and should not be leased.

“The presidential Implementation Committee’s white paper on the inquiry into the sales of Federal Government landed properties of 16th November, 2011 wrote to the then Acting Rector of the institution, Engr. Aminu Aliyu, in a response to a petition by the Polytechnic tenants that all properties belonging to Kaduna Polytechnic are for purposes of Academic Research and Development, hence, should not be sold.

“While the Union is not averse to the opportunity of owning houses by its members, unity of the Union is being threatened by the denial of equal opportunity for most members who are non-occupants and whose fate in the ongoing arrangement is unknown. This Concern is critical in the reality of numbers of current allottees, as against non-residents.

“It is note-worthy that, the Monetization Policy of President Olusegun Obasanjo did not capture the sales of institutional properties. The reference document tilled “Tertiary Institution, Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Gazette No. 82 for the sales of Federal Government houses in FCT to current Public Servants” states clearly in Preamble 4(L), and 4(M) exempting Barracks of the military, Police, Para-military, Institutional Residence (within Schools, Hospitals, Power Plants, Universities, etc), we see no good reason why Kaduna Polytechnic’s landed properties should be sold.

“It is even more disturbing that most of our members waiting to be beneficiaries cannot

afford the values placed on these properties and may only become agents or vendors to

other persons of higher net worth outside the institution’s workforce who are already

looking around to take over.

“The questions raised by this unfortunate reality are; 1. To whose benefit are the houses being sold, eventually? 2 How many are they as against those denied equal opportunity? 3. What precedence are we following in other similar Institutions? 4. How does this impact on the property for possible infrastructural expansion in the future? 5. What is the implication of all these to the security of the institution as the entire ambience of our security architecture are proximal to these properties?

“The Union has written to the President and commander-in-chief of the Federal Republic

of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, and other key stakeholders and security

agencies to express her rejection of this unfortunate development, even as we are well informed that, about 400 housing units of the institution have been valued and offered with stringent conditions and unrealistic timelines far above the reach of the targeted beneficiaries in the direct and equitable sense of it.

“In the midst of very acute deficit of critical infrastructure such as Staff Offices, Student

Hostels, Laboratories, Workshops, Recreational Facilities, Sport Complex, etc., we are at loss about what benefit the sales offer for the larger interest and specially for those who are not current occupier.

“Finally, we are calling on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria , President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, who by the amended Federal Polytechnics ACT 2019 , serves as visitor to the institution, to wade-in and rescue Kaduna Polytechnic from losing its landed properties to private individuals and estate merchants,” ASUP said.

Meanwhile, some members of the Polytechnic staff and occupants of such houses in a separate briefing, said their other colleagues kicking against the sales of the staff quarters are doing so for selfish reasons which does not hold water.

Chairman of the occupants of staff quarters of Kaduna Polytechnic, Mr Emmanuel T. Idah, flanked by other staff quarters occupants said, the sales of the staff quarters located outside the campuses of the institution has long been gazetted and does not call for any argument or rejection.

“So far, over 150 occupants of such quarters have filled in their forms and started paying for the houses, stressing that the call for the rejection of sales of the quarters was rather coming too late and should be ignored by all and sundry.

“For the avoidance of doubt, all Federal quarters in Kaduna not situated within the premises of such Federal institutions have been sold out and Kaduna Polytechnic quarters should not be an exception,” he stated.

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