Kogi poly rector urges staff to back reforms
Kogi poly rector urges staff to back reforms as the Rector of Kogi State Polytechnic, Professor Salihu Sanusi Avidime, moved to set the tone for his administration with a familiarisation visit to the institution’s Itakpe Campus, urging staff to own the reform agenda and treat the school’s renewal as a shared responsibility rather than a management project. 
The visit, which formed part of the rector’s early engagements with staff and stakeholders shortly after he assumed office, placed the School of Engineering at the centre of his message. In language that was both practical and symbolic, Avidime described engineering as central to the polytechnic’s original purpose, and insisted that strengthening technical education and practical training must drive the institution’s next phase. 
Kogi poly rector urges staff to back reforms, but he also came with a listening posture. He said the campus tour was meant to familiarise him with staff, understand their challenges, and identify areas requiring urgent attention to improve productivity and institutional growth. 
For a public polytechnic operating in a tough national economy, that framing matters. In many institutions, reforms are announced as slogans. Here, the rector’s first move was to physically meet the workforce, inspect facilities, and publicly link reform to staff needs, discipline, and training standards.
Kogi poly rector urges staff to back reforms, and one of the most direct assurances he offered was on welfare. He acknowledged the critical role of staff in achieving academic excellence and stability, and reaffirmed that his administration is committed to improving staff welfare as part of the broader repositioning plan. 
That pledge lands in a familiar context for Nigerian tertiary institutions where welfare concerns, morale, and working conditions often shape the success or failure of internal changes. Reforms that ignore staff welfare tend to trigger resistance, slow implementation, and deepen distrust. By putting welfare on the same page as performance, Avidime appears to be signalling that he wants reform to feel mutual, not imposed.
Kogi poly rector urges staff to back reforms, and he paired the welfare message with a firm note on conduct. He urged staff to remain law-abiding, diligent and committed, while stressing that management would address truancy and misconduct appropriately, with justice and equity guiding decisions. 
That blend, welfare plus discipline, is a familiar leadership test in education: how to raise standards without creating a climate of fear, and how to enforce rules without selective treatment. The rector’s language was careful. He spoke of fairness, equity, and justice in administration, while making it clear that misconduct will not be treated casually. 
Kogi poly rector urges staff to back reforms, and he also leaned into the politics of responsibility, thanking Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for entrusting him with the role and acknowledging former governor Yahaya Bello for support and encouragement. 
Beyond protocol, that acknowledgment points to a reality for state-owned institutions: leadership space is often shaped by government expectations, budget realities, and broader state education priorities. When a rector publicly signals alignment with the state leadership, it can help unlock support, but it also increases pressure to produce visible improvements quickly.
https://ogelenews.ng/kogi-poly-rector-urges-staff-to-back-reforms
Kogi poly rector urges staff to back reforms, and the staff response, at least publicly, was positive. Staff members who spoke during the visit assured him of loyalty and pledged support for his administration and reform programme. 
The institution’s communication also noted that the visit included a facility tour, suggesting that beyond speeches, management is taking stock of physical needs and operational gaps. 
Kogi poly rector urges staff to back reforms, and that phrase will be tested by realities the polytechnic itself has acknowledged: infrastructure gaps, funding constraints, staff welfare issues, and the need to modernise curriculum to meet changing industry demands. 
This is where the School of Engineering focus becomes more than rhetoric. A polytechnic lives or dies by the credibility of its practical training. Employers want graduates who can handle tools, systems, and real-world processes, not just theory. If engineering facilities are weak, equipment outdated, workshops underfunded, or industry partnerships thin, the institution’s core promise suffers. So when the rector says engineering is central to the mandate, it is also a quiet admission that engineering outcomes will become a major yardstick for judging the reforms.
Kogi poly rector urges staff to back reforms, and the rector’s approach, at least from these first moves, appears to be built on three pillars:
First, engagement: going campus-to-campus, meeting staff directly, listening, and mapping challenges. 
Second, re-focus: returning the institution to its technical mission, with engineering as the heartbeat of its identity. 
Third, order with fairness: welfare on the table, but discipline and accountability not negotiable. 
Those pillars are sensible. The risk is execution. Reforms in public institutions often stall at procurement, funding releases, internal politics, and resistance to change. That is why the rector’s repeated call for unity and collective effort is not just motivational talk; it is a request for buy-in that he clearly believes he will need to navigate the hard parts. 
In the coming weeks, stakeholders will look for the next signals: which urgent issues get fixed first at Itakpe, whether welfare discussions translate into measurable improvements, how discipline is enforced, and whether curriculum and practical training receive new investment. That is the space where talk becomes track record.
Kogi poly rector urges staff to back reforms, and for now, the early message is simple: the new leadership wants the institution repositioned, wants engineering strengthened, and wants staff to see the reforms as theirs, not management’s.
https://punchng.com/kogi-poly-rector-urges-staff-to-back-reforms
