Stakeholders in the nation’s education sector have unanimously endorsed the establishment of a federal polytechnic in Mpu, Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The endorsement came at the public hearing on “The Federal Polytechnic Mpu (Establishment) Bill 2018”organised by the Senate in Abuja.
In his presentation, Member representing Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. Toby Okechukwu, commended the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, for sponsoring the bill, noting that institution would help the people of the area to actualise their potentials.
He said: “The condition for the creation of a federal constituency is at least 250, 000 to 300,000. But the people I represent are twice that number.
“Basically, we have about 500,000 people in my Federal Constituency, but there is no federal institution, not even a federal secondary school that is in any part of this constituency. Here, we have a set of young people that are growing up. The demography of our constituency is that you have about 60-70 per cent that are young people.
“The difference between a man who is unable to understand his capacity and be in the Senate or be in Aso Rock; the difference him and the person who is in the rural community is education.
“So, we gave the Deputy President of the Senate the responsibility to sponsor this bill. This bill had gone through the mill in the 7th National Assembly, but was not signed into law. So, we asked him to bring it up again.
“It is also for that basic reason that we have our traditional rulers, our young people, members of the local government and representatives of the Enugu West Peoples Assembly here.
“Our people are hurting because of the absence of a federal institution and particularly, a higher institution of learning that can assist them in achieving their potentials.
“It is very challenging for every Aninri, Oji River, Awgu, Ezeagu, Udi person and people from Enugu State and the South East and other jurisdictions to just move to institutions that are far off for schooling.
“So, we want the National Assembly to help us by giving us an opportunity to fulfill our God-given potentials. We know that education is the only thing that can make a difference”.
Speaking on behalf of the people of Aninri, the proposed hosts of the polytechnic, Mr. Okezie Nwanjoku, implored the Federal Government to make the their dream of hosting a federal tertiary educational institution to come true, pledging the cooperation and support of the host communities.
Likewise, other key stakeholders such as the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede and the National Universities Service Commission, described the bill as a welcome development.
Speaking, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, Senator Barau Jibrin,pledged National Assembly’s support towards the actualisation of Federal Polytechnic, Mpu.
“Having listened to stakeholders, the Committee is really convinced by the submissions in support of the establishment of this polytechnic. We will give the most favorable report on the establishment of this polytechnic to the entire Senate for its approval and I am sure the Senate will approve it”, he added.