The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, ASUP, Kano State Polytechnic Chapter, has threatened to take legal action against the state government over alleged land encroachment.
Addressing a press conference immediately after its congress meeting on Tuesday, the Chairman of the union, Ahmad Zubair-Chedi alleged that the government had allocated land within the boundary of the polytechnic to private individuals.
According to him, the union had staged a peaceful protest a couple of weeks ago to call the attention of the government to stop the allocation of the land.
The chairman, therefore, called on the state government to rescind on the decision, otherwise, according to him, the union would be left with no option than to take legal action.
Mr Zubair-Chedi also alleged that construction works had already started on the land, disclosing that the union would swiftly get a court injunction to stop the project.
“It has come to our notice that the state government had allocated the piece of land within the premises of our school to private individuals for residential houses.
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“In this light, we staged a peaceful protest two weeks ago but let me tell you that construction works had already started. Erection of barricaded wall between Kano State Polytechnic and Aminu Kano College of Islamic and Legal Studies.
“We will not take this. We call on Kano State government to as a matter of urgency, stop this building, otherwise, we shall take legal action.
“We are now going to court to get an injunction to stop the government from proceeding work this decision,” the chairman stated.
The chairman also disclosed that the state government had compensated the school with 65.73 hectares of land in Bagadawa village, Dawakin Tofa Local Government area, adding that they would only take the land as an extension of the institution, not compensation.
“Other government’s tertiary institutions in this state have got an extension. So, we call on the government to make this Bagadawa land as extension of our institution and allow us to keep our own in our premises because it will be used for the construction of other departments and units,” he said
Mr Zubair-Chedi, a PhD holder, however, called on Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to take urgent action on the matter for peace and harmony to reign in the institution.
