Agitated by the demands by some interest groups for transparency and integrity in the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, the council chairman, Comrade Fidelis Edeh, on Monday ordered the arrest of some staff of Abia State origin.
The staff were said to have joined the increasing demands for transparency in the selection and appointment of a new Vice Chancellor, which is expected to be concluded next month.
At their normal monthly meeting, the staff had also canvassed the consideration of an Abia indigene as the next Vice Chancellor, citing recent similar developments in other institutions.
However, their demands did not go down well with the Council chairman, who accused them of intimidation and incitement. He therefore ordered their immediate arrest through a petition to the DSS.
Some of the staff were invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Umuahia on Monday, where they wrote statements and were allowed to go.
One of the staff affected told our correspondent that the DSS warned them to desist from engaging in divisive actions that might undermine peace in the institution ahead of the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor next month.
But a staff of Abia State origin who was not among those arrested called on the DSS to beam their searchlight on Comrade Edeh, the council chairman.
The staff, who pleaded anonymity for fear of victimisation, said it amounted to a breach of the constitutional rights of the staff to freedom of association and freedom of speech for them to be arrested by the council chairman.
“We didn’t commit any crime by demanding transparency in the process of selecting a new Vice Chancellor. We didn’t also commit any crime by asking that an Abia indigene be considered for the position as being done elsewhere. The man who ordered our arrest must have something that he is hiding,” the staff alleged.
Last week, a pressure group, Abia Democratic Alliance, had also demanded transparency and integrity in the choice of a new Vice Chancellor for MOUAU, following allegations of underhand dealings by Comrade Edeh, the council chairman, to impose a particular candidate on the institution.
