From: Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin-Kebbi
The Kebbi State government says it would increased its Science Colleges to 18 as against five inherited from immediate past administration.
Commissioner for Higher Education in the state, Alhaji Abdullahi Maigari Dakingeri, who made this known in Birnin Kebbi while addressing journalists said the present administration met five of the schools with poor structure.
Dakingeri said that already the administration of Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu had increased the numbers of the Colleges to 16, stressing that before end of the first term of the Governor the new colleges would be completed and commissioned.
Dakingeri, while speaking on uncompleted Kebbi State Polytechnic sited in Dakingeri town, said the indigenous contractors handling various projects in the institution abandoned their works because of backlog of unpaid contracts fund.
He said that most of the ongoing projects in the institution had reached 20 to 30 percent stage of completion, but the contractors abandoned their projects when new government took over.
Dakingeri also said that Governor Bagudu had not directed any contractor to stop work but maintained that the state government had held serious dialogue with them and agreed to go back to the site.
The Commissioner, who declined to disclosed total amount the previous administration owed the contractors, said the only problem delaying them were “few issues that need to be clear at the ministry of finance”.
He added that his ministry has paid all schools fees of many indigenes of the state at various higher institutions in Nigeria as well rehabilitated many state owed tertiary institution.