By BANNERNEWS Reporter
Youths in Cross River State have threatened to take their protest to Abuja over plans to appoint a non-indigene as rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ugep.
The youths, who have staged protests for the past two weeks, said they would escalate their agitation to the Federal Ministry of Education if their demand is ignored.
Speaking under the aegis of the Cross River Youth Coalition for Good Governance, one of the leaders, Sunday Ibor, warned that failure to reverse the decision would force the group to extend the protest to the Governor’s Office in Calabar and later to the Minister of Education in Abuja.
Ibor appealed to the Federal Government, the National Assembly and the Minister of Education to ensure that an indigene of Cross River State is appointed to head the institution.
He stressed that the youths’ position was anchored on fairness and local inclusion, not confrontation, adding that their agitation remained peaceful.
Over the weekend, the protesters marched through major streets of Ugep, where the polytechnic is located, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Give us a rector from Cross River State,” “Justice for FedPoly Ugep,” and “Indigenous rector, our right.”
“Our position is simple,” Ibor said. “Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, is located in Cross River State, and we believe an indigene who understands the peculiar challenges of the institution and the state should be allowed to manage it.”
Another protester, Sunday Inyang, expressed dissatisfaction over what he described as the repeated appointment of non-indigenes to head federal institutions in the state.
“When you look across the country, most states have their indigenous sons and daughters heading their polytechnics. Why should Cross River be an exception?” Inyang asked.
He added that the protest was aimed at drawing the attention of President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Education to what the youths described as an injustice.
The protesters also disclosed that they visited the palace of the Paramount Ruler of Yakurr and the Yakurr Local Government Secretariat to formally present their demands to relevant authorities.
