Former lawmaker and All Progressives Congress (APC) leader in Oyo State, Senator Ayoade Ademola Adeseun, has said the establishment of the Federal Polytechnic, Ayede, Ogbomoso, was driven by his commitment to correcting educational imbalance, addressing Nigeria’s technical skills deficit and using federal institutions as tools for community development.
Adeseun, who represented Oyo Central Senatorial District and served in the House of Representatives, said the idea emerged during his first stint in the National Assembly when he belonged to the House Committee on Education.
According to him, a Federal Government study conducted by the Federal Ministry of Education on the distribution of federal tertiary institutions revealed a disturbing gap in Oyo State.
“Some states had two or three federal institutions, but Oyo State had only one — the University of Ibadan,” he said.
He noted that while the University of Ibadan, established in 1948 as a college of the University of London, remains Nigeria’s premier university, the absence of another federal educational institution in the state was unacceptable.
“As pre-eminent as UI is, to say that Oyo State had no other federal educational institution was scandalous,” Adeseun said.
He explained that the realisation shaped his belief that every state hosting a conventional federal university should also have a technically oriented federal institution to balance academic theory with practical skills.
“I felt it was my duty as a legislator to do whatever I could to attract a technical tertiary institution to my community,” he said.
Adeseun described the responsibilities of a legislator as threefold — lawmaking, representation and oversight — stressing that improving the welfare and future prospects of constituents must remain central to public service.
“That obligation to improve the lot of my people was my focus in pursuing this project,” he added.
Although the initiative did not materialise during his first term, Adeseun said he intensified efforts during his second tenure.
“I took the bull by the horns. I secured the institution, decided the community and ensured it was established,” he said.
Federal Polytechnic, Ayede: Beyond educational balance
Beyond educational balance, Adeseun said the project was also motivated by Nigeria’s chronic shortage of technically skilled manpower.
“For a long time, we relied on foreigners for carpentry, construction and other technical services. When their economies improved, they left, and we were stranded,” he said.
He stressed that Nigeria must move beyond purely academic training to higher-level technical manpower development capable of creating jobs, industries and economic resilience.
“The world is becoming technological. If we do not train people in technologically oriented institutions, we will continue to lag behind,” he warned.
Adeseun welcomed the Federal Government’s recent decision to allow polytechnics to award degrees, describing it as a long-overdue reform that would end the dichotomy between HND holders and university graduates.
“Once polytechnics begin to award degrees, more students will embrace technical institutions because that is where you acquire practical skills that can help you fend for yourself even before graduation,” he said.
He said the decision to site the polytechnic in Ayede, Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Area, was deliberate and informed by his academic background in Urban and Regional Planning.
“From day one, I decided it would not be located inside the town. I wanted it in a rural setting to decongest Ogbomoso and drive development outward,” he explained.
Adeseun said he sought and received the backing of the late Soun of Ogbomoso, after which the Ayede community demonstrated strong ownership of the project by donating about 100 acres of land, enabling surveys, documentation and federal approvals to be completed.
“I took everything to Abuja, secured federal approval and budgetary allocation running into about N500 million,” he disclosed.
The former lawmaker said the smooth take-off of the institution was aided by earlier federal projects he attracted to Ogbomoso during his time in the National Assembly.
“In the course of my service, I brought several projects to Ogbomoso. These include the National Youth Training Centre at Idi-Ayin in Iresa-Pupa, the National Directorate of Employment office and an ICT centre at Ogbomoso Grammar School,” he said.
According to him, these facilities currently serve as the polytechnic’s temporary campus and are still being utilised as the institution gradually transitions to its permanent site at Ayede.
“As they move to their permanent site, some courses will still remain at the temporary site so that those facilities can also continue to develop,” he added.
Adeseun acknowledges contributions of Ogbomoso indigenes
Adeseun acknowledged that some Ogbomoso indigenes contributed to the project in various ways but maintained that the initiative was driven by his vision and legislative intervention.
He also revealed that at a point after his exit from office, there were attempts to relocate the institution from its approved location, but the move was strongly resisted by stakeholders.
Today, the Federal Polytechnic, Ayede, approved under the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari, is fully operational, offering National Diploma programmes in areas such as Accountancy, Engineering and Computer Science, with emphasis on practical and entrepreneurial training.
The institution has graduated two sets of students, with preparations underway for another convocation.
“Today, the institution is doing very well,” Adeseun said
