This was disclosed during a joint press conference held by the unions in Zaria, Mr Usman-Shehu Sulaiman, Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of the Polytechnics (ASUP), Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic chapter.
Academic and non-academic staff unions at the Kaduna State's Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria have declared their readiness to embark on strike action to protest over the planned pullout of military and other security forces guarding the campus.
This was disclosed during a joint press conference held by the unions in Zaria, Mr Usman-Shehu Sulaiman, Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of the Polytechnics (ASUP), Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic chapter.
Sulaiman stated that the purpose of the news conference was to alert the state government, parents, and other important stakeholders about the security and other issues impeding academic research and learning operations at the university.
The chairman stated that on June 11, 2021, academic staff, their families, and students were kidnapped at the institution, forcing the state government to replace the school's security guards with military soldiers and some members of the Kaduna State Vigilance Service.
He stated that the college's military and vigilante staff were planning to leave due to non-payment of their four-month allowance.
“The withdrawal of service by the military at the school would put everybody at risk of abduction and other criminal acts. There are informants who will leak this development,” he said.
He stated that the school's monthly overhead has not been paid since February, and that this has caused the school to postpone exams and result presentations, supply identity cards to students, and conduct weed control activities, among other things.
According to the union head, the school was in its 13th week of resumption and was meant to have begun examinations, but they could not be held due to the non-provision of the booklet.
“We will issue a one-week ultimatum to the government to address payment of the backlog of allowances,” he said.
Malam Mahmud Aliyu-Kwarbai, chairman of the non-academic staff union of the polytechnic, said staff members live in constant fear of security breaches.
“We don’t have functional security in the school; our security was withdrawn and replaced by security personnel from Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KadVS).
“The KadVS personnel attached to the school had left their beat because of the non-payment of their allowances, which led to serious theft and vandalism of school properties,” Kwarbai said.
He further stated that the government's Single Treasury Account (TSA) policy has jeopardised the institution's smooth operation, as the college has only received an overhead once since January 2023.
The polytechnic's Public Relations Officer, Malam Abdullahi Shehu, confirmed the development to reporters, adding that the school administration was trying to rectify the highlighted concerns.