Ondo State-owned Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO) will graduate about 25,000 students during its 12th to 23rd combined convocations scheduled for Saturday.
Acting Rector, Mr. Olorunwa Adegun, made this known yesterday at a news briefing to herald the week-long convocation.
He described the event as a “jinx-breaking convocation” after 12 years of inactivity.
Adegun said the last convocation was held in 2013. He hailed the visitor to the polytechnic, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, for his decisive intervention that made the event possible.
He described the long absence of convocations as unacceptable, noting that Aiyedatiwa’s administration had shown uncommon commitment to restoring the institution’s lost glory.
“When I assumed office in October 2023, the polytechnic was in an intensive care unit – workers morale was at its lowest, salaries were unpaid for 14 months, and payments were made irregularly, sometimes as low as five per cent,” he said.
The rector said the institution was enmeshed in industrial crises, legal disputes and loss of accreditation for several academic programmes.
He added that the polytechnic’s business enterprises and staff school were non-functional, while it had lost its status as a JAMB UTME centre.
Adegun, however, said with Governor Aiyedatiwa’s support, the institution had witnessed a remarkable turnaround.
He said the governor approved special intervention funds that reduced the backlog of 40 months of unpaid salaries to just three, and financed the re-accreditation of 68 programmes by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
The rector added that the governor also released funds for the convocation, noting that without such support, the event would not have been possible due to financial constraints.
He said the ‘’polytechnic has now regained stability in its academic calendar and industrial relations,’’ adding that 2024 was the first year in over a decade without any industrial crisis.
Adegun disclosed that the institution’s business units – including its water factory, bakery and guesthouse – had been fully revitalised, while its staff school reopened last month.
He said the polytechnic had also been designated as a hub for entrepreneurship development in the Southwest by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), and as a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle conversion centre -a project expected to commence before the convocation.
Highlighting other achievements, he said a chief lecturer led Nigeria to a gold medal victory at the 2023/2024 Global ICT Competition in Shenzhen, China, while a lecturer and a student from the Faculty of Engineering won the Best Engineer Awards in Ondo State.
Adegun hailed the cordial relationship between the polytechnic and its host community, Owo, and expressed appreciation to the Olowo of Owo and Chairman of the Ondo State Council of Obas, Oba (Dr.) Gbadegesin Ogunoye III, for his consistent support.
He said following Governor Aiyedatiwa’s approval to upgrade Rufus Giwa Polytechnic to a university, the management had begun necessary administrative processes to complement the government’s efforts.
The rector lauded the governing council, academic board, staff unions, and alumni for their cooperation, noting the alumni’s contributions – including solar-powered streetlights, a solar portal, and an ongoing alumni building project to be inaugurated during the convocation.
He expressed deep gratitude to Governor Aiyedatiwa for his “sustained retrieval efforts,” saying the convocation would not only celebrate the graduating students but also symbolise the rebirth of the polytechnic.
