A fresh crisis is looming at the Bayelsa State Polytechnic, Aleibiri, as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Aleibiri Chapter, has rejected queries issued to some Heads of Department, Directors and Deans over their failure to attend an Academic Board meeting convened by the retired former Rector, Dr. Wisdom Clinton Soreh.
The development is coming barely weeks after the union suspended its industrial action following the intervention of the Visitor to the Polytechnic and Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri.
It was gathered that the Academic Board meeting was meant to be attended by Deans, Heads of Department, Directors and other members of the board, numbering about 30 persons.
However, only two persons reportedly attended the meeting, with sources describing the development as a deliberate boycott of the Rector’s summons by the majority of the academic officials.
The development has heightened concerns that the crisis surrounding the controversial reappointment of Soreh could be resurfacing, with ASUP threatening to escalate the matter through appropriate industrial channels if the queries are not withdrawn.
The union’s position followed an internal memo dated September 3, 2026, issued by the Polytechnic’s Registrar, Mrs. Patience Zuokemefa, to several members of the Academic Board over their failure to attend the Academic Board meeting held on September 2.
The affected officials were directed to explain their absence within 48 hours, failing which the matter would be referred to the appropriate quarters for further disciplinary action.
In the memo, the Registrar, acting on the directive of the Rector, accused the HOD of failing to notify management of his inability to attend the meeting or provide an explanation before or after the meeting.
The Registrar described the absence as a deliberate act of sabotage against the academic progress of the institution and gave the affected staff member 48 hours to explain his absence, warning that failure to do so would lead to disciplinary action.
However, ASUP said the affected academic staff and others acted in accordance with a directive issued by the union.
In a response signed by its chapter chairman, Dr. Oyin-Emi Frank Ogbomah, ASUP said the directive to HODs, Directors and Deans not to attend any meeting convened or chaired by the retired former Rector was issued by the chapter in compliance with the mandate of its national body.
The union maintained that it does not recognise a retiree and member of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners as Rector of a polytechnic.
According to ASUP, it was not aware of any polytechnic in Nigeria where a retired Rector issues directives to serving academic staff.
The union further argued that no tertiary institution owned by the Bayelsa State Government is currently headed, or has previously been headed, by a pensioner.
“ASUP members are not bound by directives issued by a retiree and will not accept such an anomaly,” the union stated.
The renewed dispute comes against the backdrop of concerns earlier expressed by the Visitor to the Polytechnic, Senator Douye Diri, over the controversy generated by the appointment of Soreh as Rector.
Niger Delta Herald reports that Governor Diri recently admitted that he was wrongly advised over the appointment of the controversial Rector.
The Governor made the disclosure while inaugurating the newly constituted Bayelsa State Advisory Council, where he expressed concern over the backlash and controversy that followed the decision.
Diri’s admission is significant in the context of the current dispute, particularly as the Governor had intervened in the disagreement between the Polytechnic management and ASUP.
The union subsequently suspended its strike action, citing respect for the intervention of the State Government and the Visitor.
ASUP said its present priority was to return to the classroom and continue teaching its students.
But while the union has suspended its industrial action, it has now drawn a fresh line over the queries issued to its members.
The union is demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all queries issued to its members for declining to attend meetings with the retired former Rector.
ASUP warned that failure to withdraw the queries would compel it to escalate the matter through appropriate industrial channels.
The development has therefore raised fears of another confrontation at the institution, barely weeks after the suspension of the industrial action.
With the Governor having previously intervened in the matter and acknowledged that he was wrongly advised over the controversial appointment, stakeholders are watching closely to see whether the latest disagreement will be resolved before it degenerates into another industrial crisis at the Polytechnic.
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