A former Senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State, Ayoade Adeseun, on Sunday, disclosed that he facilitated about N500 million in federal funding for the establishment of the Federal Polytechnic, Ayede, in Ogbomoso.
He described the project as a deliberate intervention to expand the federal educational presence and promote technical skills development in the state.
Adeseun made the disclosure in an interview with The Punch in Ogbomoso, saying the idea for the institution was conceived during his first term in the National Assembly while serving on the House Committee on Education.
He explained that exposure to a federal government study on the distribution of tertiary institutions across the country revealed a glaring gap in the state.
The Punch reports that the Federal Polytechnic, Ayede, in Ogbomoso was established in February 2021 by the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari in Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Area of the state.
The institution is a key technical hub aimed at promoting vocational education and skills development.
It operates with a focus on practical, entrepreneurial training and offers National Diploma programmes in fields such as Accountancy, Engineering, and Computer Science.
Its temporary site is located in Iresa-Pupa.
Speaking further, Adeseun said, “Well, during my first time in the House of Representatives, I belonged to the House Committee on Education, and I was privy to a study carried out by the Federal Ministry of Education to ascertain the status and spread of federal educational institutions across the country.
“That report showed where institutions were located. In some states, there were two or three federal institutions, but in this state, there was only one — the University of Ibadan.”
He described the situation as unacceptable, noting that despite UI’s historic status as Nigeria’s premier university, the state needed more federal presence in tertiary education, particularly in technical training.
“I said to myself, as pre-eminent as UI had become, to say we don’t have any other federal educational institution in this state was scandalous.
“So, we reasoned that wherever there was a conventional federal university, there should also be a technically-oriented institution,” he stated.
The former lawmaker said attracting such an institution to his constituency became part of his legislative responsibility.
“You know the work of a legislator is principally threefold: to legislate, to represent your community by bringing development, and to carry out oversight. So improving the lot of my people was my focus in trying to bring that institution.”
He disclosed that while the effort did not materialise during his first term, he intensified the push during his second tenure.
“I got to work. I didn’t finish it the first time, but in my second time, I took the bull by the horns, secured the institution for my community, decided the location, and when it was to be established.”
Adeseun noted that his motivation was also driven by Nigeria’s shortage of technically skilled manpower.
“One of the things missing in the Nigerian economic space is people with technical skills. For a long time, we had foreigners handling carpentry, construction, and other technical jobs. When their economies improved, they left, and we were stranded,” he said.
He stressed that polytechnic education remains crucial to economic growth in a technology-driven world.
“The world is becoming technological. If we don’t train people in technologically-oriented institutions, we will lag behind,” he added.
Speaking on the siting of the institution, the senator said his background in Urban and Regional Planning influenced his decision to locate the polytechnic outside Ogbomoso township.
“From day one, I made up my mind it would not be located inside the town. I wanted it in a rural setting to decongest the city and drive development outward.”
He said Ayede village was eventually selected after consultations with traditional authorities, including the late Soun of Ogbomoso.
“I told Kabiyesi I was bringing a federal institution but wanted it sited in Ayede. He supported the idea and blessed it,” Adeseun recalled.
He added that the community provided about 100 acres of land for the project, after which he secured federal approval and funding.
“I took everything back to Abuja, secured federal approval, and got budgetary allocation running into half a billion naira for the project,” he said.
Adeseun noted that stakeholders’ meetings involving traditional rulers and government officials were later held to sustain the project, especially as his tenure ended before construction commenced.
He also revealed that attempts were made at a point to relocate the institution but were resisted by stakeholders.
“Today, the institution is doing very well. They have graduated two sets of students already, and we are preparing for another convocation,” he said.
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