Jacob Ogodo, Abakaliki
The National Vice President of Academic Staff Union of Universities,Prof. Osodeke Emmanuel said the meeting between the Union and Ebonyi state Governor, Chief David Umahi on the way to resolve the lingering crisis that bedeviled Ebonyi state University ended in deadlock.
Prof. Osodeke made this known while interacting with newsmen on the outcome of the meeting between ASUU and Ebonyi state government over the problems of the state University.
He condemned in its entirety the situation where Ebonyi state University Ebonyi state operates without a governing council stressing that the governing council of the university was dissolved two months ago, and has not been constituted.
He said: “We came here because of the shortcomings among our members in Ebonyi state University. And we believe that since the university did not have a governing board, we decided to meet with the visitor of the university.
“The governing council of the university was dissolved two months ago, and has not been constituted. The law didn’t envisage that and that’s why we decided to meet with the visitor since there was no governing council.
“We are not happy because the issue we raised was not attended to. The rather minor issue of personality dominated the main purpose we came for, which is the problems facing Ebonyi state university, and that’s why the meeting ended in deadlock.
“Instead of talking about the problems facing the university, the visitor concentrated on calling the ASUU chairman, a small boy. And that he cannot relate with our chairman here and that’s why the meeting ended in deadlock. We will meet with the congress tomorrow and they will take their decision, and then we will meet with the national and they will take their decision.
“The threat on the Ebonyi ASUU chairman Mr. Ikechukwu Igwenyi, was repeated by the governor and that if anything goes wrong, he (igwenyi) will be held responsible” he stated.
In a swift reaction, the governor David Umahi who spoke to journalists through the commissioner for education Dr. Onyebuchi Chima blamed ASUU of unpreparedness.
“I will say that what happened today at the meeting was a show of unpreparedness on part of ASUU and on the part of the people that came.
“The information they provided was erroneous. Let’s put it on record that before they (ASUU) came, not even the ministry of education was away from there coming. Not the SSA on higher education, not even the university, you don’t go to the visitor first, without first of all finding out the issues.
“Information is power, yet they didn’t have any information. The prior information they have is malicious” he stated.