Authorities of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, on Friday raised concerns over alleged invasion and subsequent destruction of the institution’s farmlands by suspected herdsmen.
Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr Taiwo Akande, said at a pre- convocation news conference in Ado-Ekiti that the institution had lost several millions in monetary terms to the menace.
She called on the Federal Government to intervene in the crisis.
She added that the police and eminent Nigerians like Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) whose university is located directly opposite the polytechnic had intervened to stop further damage but to no avail.
“This menace of these herdsmen has been most destructive on many of our demonstration farms and pilot plantations.
“It is most painful to also disclose that some of the pilot farm projects, academic, research demonstration farms and recently established plantations on which we pinned our hope for future revenue enhancement have been destroyed one after the other by these people.
“They will bring their animals to the campus environment and eat up every green thing in sight,” she said.
According to her, this systematic destruction of the institution’s farms and project has been on for over two years.
Akande also said another major problem confronting the polytechnic was the activities of land grabbers and illegal settlers.
The rector also listed continued dwindling resources arising from low funding by the Federal Government and poor patronage by the private sector in terms of endowment as part of current challenges of the polytechnic.
She appealed to the Federal Government to make polytechnic education more attractive to Nigerian admission seekers and sponsors alike by removing the age-long dichotomy between it and the university.
