… Cites intimidation of principal officers, victimisation of staff over promotions, usurpation of management roles, etc.
Worried by the deteriorating academic standard and low morale of staff of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Concerned Parents of the University have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to sack the Chairman of the Governing Council, Comrade Fidelis Edeh, whom they blamed for the rot in the institution.
They averred that since the assumption of office of the Council Chairman in 2024, peace has not only eluded the university but the system has completely broken down. They accused Edeh of intimidation of the Vice Chancellor, the rash suspension of the registrar and the bursar without due process, and the victimisation of staff, including denying them their promotion.
Other allegations against the Council Chairman include the usurpation of the roles of the management, conversion of the University Guest House into personal use, and cronyism and nepotism whereby only staff from his home state of Enugu are granted accelerated promotion.
In a press statement issued in Umuahia on Tuesday, the Chairman of the group, Hon. Obinna Nwankwo, regretted that their several appeals to Edeh to change his leadership style have been ignored, hence their call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sack him.
“The man is demarketing both Mr President and the APC through his combative, vindictive and unconventional style of leadership which does not accommodate due process and inclusiveness,” he submitted.
The group cited the recent summary suspension of both the registrar and the bursar without due process and the open intimidation of the new Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ursula Ngozi Akanwa, as worrisome developments which necessitated their call for his removal.
According to the group, the Chairman has also sat on the promotion of Dr. Philips Nto to the rank of a professor because of personal differences.
According to the group, the promotion process of Dr. Philips Nto has passed through all the necessary University assessment procedures only for Edeh, as the Governing Council Chairman, to sit on it, boasting that he would frustrate him in the university.
It noted that in order to buy time, Edeh set up a kangaroo panel to review what the relevant organs in the university, including the committee of the Governing Council, had recommended: the promotion of Dr. Philips Nto to the rank of a professor effective 2021.
The group noted that the said panel is only one out of many, which Edeh routinely sets up mainly to witch-hunt staff who are opposed to his arbitrary and dictatorial style of leadership.
It regretted that in the guise of setting up such panels, Edeh had effectively taken over the day-to-day running of the University from the Vice Chancellor and her management.
“Comrade Fidelis Edeh virtually lives in the university guest house and has hired personal staff who are paid by the university. Instead of arriving at the institution during the sitting of the council, which is quarterly, he is always there breathing down the necks of the principal officers.
Contrary to the procedure obtained in universities, Edeh issues directives and invitations to any Dean or director that catches his fancy, boycotting the usual channel of communication. Sometimes, he even sets up meetings with students without the knowledge of management.”
The concerned parents insisted that the university is on the brink of collapse except Edeh is removed as the council chairman.
“The matter has degenerated to the low level that he now awards contracts without due process while threatening the Vice Chancellor with anti-corruption agencies if she fails to do his bidding,” it insisted.
“We are now appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to save the university. The man has been dropping the name of the Minister as his friend. We know that he is not above the President,” they concluded.
