By Cletus Asuquo
UGEP (CONVERSEER) – Youths under the aegis of the Cross River Youth Coalition for Good Governance on Friday staged a peaceful protest in Ugep, Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State, over the ongoing process of appointing a new rector for the Federal Polytechnic, Ugep.
The protesters, who marched through major streets of the town, were seen holding placards with inscriptions such as “Give us a rector from Cross River State,” “Justice for FedPoly Ugep,” and “Indigenous rector, our right.”
Addressing journalists during the protest, a leader of the group, Sunday 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 said, “Our position is simple. Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, is located in Cross River State, and we believe that 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?” he asked.
Inyang emphasised that the protest was peaceful and 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 as part of efforts to formally present their demands to relevant authorities.
They warned that if their appeal was not addressed, the group might extend the protest to Calabar and Abuja to press home their demand.
The youths, however, reiterated their commitment to peace, noting that their agitation was driven by dialogue and not confrontation.
Recall that the students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, had staged a similar protest about two weeks ago, calling on the Cross River State Governor to intervene in the matter.
