President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of Federal Polytechnic Wannune, Benue State.
Disclosing this via Twitter on Friday, Personal Assistant to President Buhari on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, added that approval has been given for the take-off grant of N2 billion for the Polytechnic from TETFund’s funding resources for core facilities.
While the development comes as cheering news for Benue State, particularly indigenes of Tarkwa Local Government Area, it would send shockwaves across the nation, considering the country’s budget deficit and deteriorating state of existing tertiary institutions.
The 2021 budget of N13.58trn has a deficit of about N5.20tn approximately 3.64% of GDP.
This is above the 3% threshold set by the Fiscal responsibility Act due to the economic challenges attributable to COVID-19.
The deficit is expected to be financed by new borrowings, privatisation proceeds and drawdown on loans secured for specific projects.
And according to experts, the establishment of the polytechnic at a time existing institutions are in dire need of an upgrade of some sort is not the right move.
They argue that funds would have been suitably used in uplifting those academic institutions.
Currently, there are over 50 federal government-owned universities and polytechnics in the country.
