The Rector of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, Usman Ogbo, has revealed that his administration successfully prevented 107 security threats during the first four years of his tenure.
Ogbo made this statement during a press conference on Tuesday, marking the conclusion of his first term and the commencement of his second four-year term as the head of the institution.
At the press briefing, Ogbo outlined several key achievements from his first term, which he believes have contributed to the restoration of the Polytechnic’s reputation among higher institutions in Nigeria.
He expressed his gratitude to the Chief Servant of the state, His Excellency Ahmed Usman Ododo, and emphasized that it would be a disservice to the state leader if he did not highlight the progress made during his tenure.
Ogbo’s administration took steps to enhance the security framework of the Polytechnic, with the successful prevention of 107 security threats being one of the notable accomplishments.
He further detailed improvements made in the institution’s operational processes, particularly in the area of academic integrity.
One such improvement was the introduction of the Academic Board Central Results Verification Committee, which is headed by the Deputy Rector and includes Deans and representatives from each School. According to Ogbo, this committee has significantly improved the verification process of students’ results. The committee carefully reviews results submitted by departments and schools before making recommendations to the Academic Board for final approval, ensuring that errors in results are reduced and resources are saved.
“By taking sufficient time to review the results, the committee has greatly reduced errors in approved results. It has also saved time and resources previously spent by the Board on result verification,” Ogbo explained.
Another significant achievement Ogbo highlighted was the institution’s production of its first-ever annual report. Before his administration, the Polytechnic had never produced an annual report since its establishment. Ogbo and his team discovered that there were no archived records documenting the institution’s activities over the years. This absence of an annual report, he said, was not a good reflection on an institution that had been in existence for nearly three decades.
“We took it as a challenge to ensure that the activities of each academic session are documented in an annual report,” Ogbo stated. “The production of annual reports has now become a tradition. We have already completed the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 editions, and we are now in the final stages of producing the 2021/2022, 2022/2023, and 2023/2024 editions.”
The Polytechnic’s first annual report was produced for the 2018/2019 session, marking a historic milestone for the institution.
Ogbo expressed pride in the progress the Polytechnic had made under his leadership, especially in terms of documenting its past, assessing its present, and planning for the future.
As Ogbo embarks on his second term, he reiterated his commitment to taking the Polytechnic to the next level, with a focus on further improving the institution’s academic and operational processes.
His first-term achievements, particularly in the areas of security, result verification, and institutional documentation, have drawn praise from various quarters, as the Polytechnic looks to build on this foundation in the coming years.
