Olu of Ilaro Pleads With Abiodun to Allow Ogun State Polytechnic Ipokia begin Academic Session
Wale Iposu
The Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has been enjoined to reactivate Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia which has been abandoned since the beginning of this administration. This call was made by the Olu of Ilaro and the Paramount Ruler of Yewa land, Oba (Dr.) Kehinde Olugbenle during a Town Hall meeting on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2023 Budget, held at Ilaro on Tuesday, October 25.
Ogun State Polytechnic Ipokia was created by the immediate past administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun as a response to the demand of Yewa-Awori people for an educational institution in the border town of the State. The institution which was equipped to an appreciable stage was ready to begin academic session but Governor Abiodun stopped it saying some other factors needed to be considered before he would allow it to take off. This decision, NigerianEcho learnt, didn’t go down well with the people of Ogun West Senatorial District.
Speaking on why he decided to stop the operation of the Institution, Abiodun, who was in Ipokia on July16, 2021 to flag off the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign in preparation for the local government elections, explained that his
administration reversed the movement of the polytechnic because Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) Abeokuta which was being relocated to Ipokia was an ecosystem for those who had hostels, selling foods, and others. Mr Abiodun said the economy around MAPOLY suffered because of the relocation, hence the need to reverse Amosun’s decision.
“Permit me to say that MAPOLY is an ecosystem for people that provided hostels, hospitality, food, among others; all that was shutdown. The economy around the MAPOLY economy was suffering. We managed to give life back to MAPOLY. It is now in full session. Having done that, we have again appointed a committee to look at the projects that were ongoing but uncompleted by the previous administration.
“I will go back to Abeokuta and make my decision. Government is continuum and this administration has promised that every common wealth that has been invested in any project, as long as that project is of socio-economic importance to our people, we would ensure that such project is continued.
“The idea behind this institution is a good one. But we need to look at all other circumstances that surround its establishment, such as the cost and the viability and take a decision”, Abiodun noted.
However, three years after taking office as Governor of the State and almost two years after promising to do something, nothing has been done to put the facilities of the institution to use. Checks by NigerianEcho show that the facilities at the Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia are rotting away.
Amosun, while creating Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia, had upgraded MAPOLY to Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology (MAUSTECH). Abiodun however reversed the decision and stopped Ipokia Polytechnic from taking off.
Oba Olugbenle also appreciated Abiodun for the two kilometre road constructed in Imeko which was recently commissioned by the Governor himself. The monarch however appealed to Abiodun to pay attention to Ipokia- Idi-Iroko, Imeko-Ijoun, Rounda-Ayetoro-Imeko roads, while work should be expedited on the Imasayi- Igan-Ikoto-Ayetoro road. He said Abiodun could only do his bit because most of the roads in Ogun West are not motorable.
In his response, Abiodun said his administration was not unmindful of the desire of Yewa people to have the Polytechnic in Ipokia up and running but the government was incapacitated as there was no money to fund it. . He added that the reason most of the roads in Ogun West are unattended is because most of them are Federal roads.
“We cannot deny your pains, especially as it concerns mobility on some roads in this division. The major challenge about these roads is their ownership. Yewa/Awori Division hosts some of the major federal roads that traverse our state. That brings to the fore some of the challenges of our federal system.
“People who commute on the roads are not interested in the ownership structure of the roads. They geo-locate their pains, stress and strains at the location where these are felt – which is this state. This is understandable. Again, I plead for your continued patience, understanding and fortitude. Let me re-assure that we are equally anxious as you are to get these roads fixed.
“We are not sleeping on them. While we still await the Federal Government’s approval on transfer of the reconstruction of Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta, we are daily on that road to fix the failed portions. As a stop-gap arrangement, you would have seen the Ogun State Public Works Agency (OGPWA) undertaking daily palliative works on these roads so as to make them passable”, he said.
