FCAPT Archives - The Historica Nigeria

Hotoro Residents Defend FCAPT Provost, Cite Reforms, Impact, and Alignment With Renewed Hope Agenda

As the tenure of Dr. Muhammad Yusha’u Gwaram, Provost of the Federal College of Agricultural Produce Technology (FCAPT), Kano, draws closer to expiration, residents of Hotoro community have risen in his defense, stressing that his leadership should continue in view of his remarkable reforms and alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. They argued that contrary to speculations, the retirement age for Provosts of Federal Colleges of Agriculture (FCAs) and heads of National Agricultural Research Institutes (NARIs) is 65 years, not 60. Therefore, calls for his exit on such grounds were described as baseless and misleading. Highlighting his achievements, the residents maintained that Dr. Gwaram has distinguished himself among the most successful Provosts in the institution’s history. Under his stewardship, FCAPT has expanded its impact across agricultural education, agribusiness, and youth empowerment. Particularly, his initiative of providing graduates with entrepreneurial knowledge and starter kits has created jobs and lifted many youths out of unemployment. Read Also: Provost Gwaram Unveils FCAPT Progress, Seeks Urgent Completion of Bunkure Campus “This vision is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu, which prioritizes empowerment, job creation, and sustainable development,” the statement noted, adding that his leadership has strengthened service delivery, institutional growth, and confidence among staff and students. The Hotoro community further condemned what they described as “online detractors tarnishing the image of a reform-minded leader.” They emphasized that many youths in Hotoro, Kano, and beyond have benefited from the college’s training and retraining initiatives, and urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Kano State Government to intervene and put an end to what they called unnecessary distractions. “Dr. Gwaram’s tenure has been about legacy, institutional growth, and building futures. Extending his leadership is not just a reward for his achievements but an investment in the future of agricultural education in Nigeria,” the residents reiterated. Shehu is a resident of Hotoro and a concerned Kano citizen.

Education, National, News

Polytechnic Union Threatens Strike, Gives FG 21 Days to Meet Demands

Umar Idris Shuaibu / August 15, 2025

Public polytechnics across Nigeria may soon be thrown into another round of industrial unrest as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has issued the Federal Government a 21-day deadline to address lingering issues affecting the sector or face a possible shutdown of academic activities. Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Thursday after an emergency meeting of the union’s leadership, ASUP President, Comrade Shammah Kpanja, accused the government of insincerity and reneging on commitments to address key issues affecting staff welfare, accreditation processes, and other unresolved matters. Kpanja expressed strong opposition to the continued decision by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to outsource the accreditation of polytechnics to private companies, despite earlier assurances to halt the practice. He alleged that many of the firms contracted lacked the competence for such tasks, with some registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under unrelated sectors such as farming, business consultancy, or medical services. Read Also: ABCOAD Secures NBTE Accreditation for 11 ND, HND Programmes The union also accused the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) of failing to release the circular for payment of the Peculiar Academic Allowance, a key provision in the ASUP/FGN 2010 agreement and lamented its removal from the national budgeting template. On discrimination against Higher National Diploma (HND) holders, Kpanja faulted the Federal Government for stalling the approval of a dual mandate structure designed to end the disparity between HND and degree qualifications. He said this inaction was perpetuating long-standing bias against polytechnic graduates. Other grievances listed by the union include the non-payment of 25/35 per cent arrears from the 2023 salary review, the delayed release of the second tranche of the NEEDS Assessment intervention, non-payment of promotion arrears in several state-owned polytechnics, some dating back to 2019 and the unresolved CONTISS 15 arrears which have lingered since 2014. ASUP also criticised the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) for what it described as a “non-committal disposition” to genuine dialogue and for failing to act on resolutions from previous negotiations. “The continued delay and non-approval of a dual mandate structure has facilitated discrimination against polytechnic education and its products,” Kpanja warned. “If our demands are not addressed within 21 days, the union may have no choice but to declare a trade dispute and withdraw the services of our members across public polytechnics and monotechnics nationwide.” With the ultimatum counting down, stakeholders fear another disruption to academic activities in the nation’s technical education sector if a resolution is not reached.