Barely 24 hours after the
Academic Staff Union of
Universities, ASUU, called off its
5-month old strike, the
University of Nigeria Nsukka,
UNN, has been shut down
indefinitely by the workers.
At a heavy protest in the
University on Wednesday, all
the workers union demanded
the immediate sack of the Vice
Chancellor, Prof. Bartho Okolo.
Okolo is being accused of
corrupt practices and neglect of
due process in running the
affairs of the university.
Apart from accusing Okolo of
being a corrupt leader, the
workers demanded the
reinstatement of the Chairman
of the Governing Council, Prof
Emeka Enejere, who was on
Tuesday suspended on the
orders of the supervising
minister of education, Nyesom
Wike.
The workers made up of the
Academic Staff Union of
Universities, ASUU, the Non-
Academic Staff Union of
Universities, NASU, and the
National Association of
Academic Technologists, NAT,
chanted songs saying it was
the Vice Chancellor, Prof Bartho
Okolo, instead, who should be
sacked.
After marching for over six
hours, they dispersed,
promising to return for daily
demonstrations until the
Council Chairman was
reinstated and other ills of the
university which they alleged
originated from Prof Okolo were
corrected.
The members of the three trade
union groups, numbering over
1000, who carried placards
with various inscriptions such
as “Pro-chancellor must come
back”, “Enejere must come
back”, “Batho must go” were
led by the three leaders of the
unions, Comrade Dr. Ifeanyi
Abada, Comrade Godfrey Ugwu
and Comrade Onwu Anthony.
While briefing journalists at the
end of the rally, the workers
decried the leadership style of
the university under Prof Okolo
and called for his immediate
removal
“We have to reiterate that the
University of Nigeria under the
leadership of Prof Batho Okolo
is in ruins. The history of the
University today is the history
of maladministration, financial
impropriety and recklessness,
contract splitting and money
laundering”, the workers stated
at the Freedom Square of the
University.
The unions noted with dismay
the suspension of Dr Enejere by
the minister, even when he had
been discharging his functions
as council chairman effectively.
They accused Wike of shielding
and encouraging the corrupt
Vice Chancellor, even against
the basic principles of President
Goodluck Jonathan’s
transformation agenda.
“We challenge the supervising
minister of education and his
partner /adviser in chief and
collaborator Prof Okojie to
explain the following: Why he
hastily suspended a council
chairman without any form of
query?
“The justification for
suspending Dr Enejere without
reason?
“Why he is encouraging
corruption in the Universities?
“Why he is shielding and
encouraging corrupt vice
chancellors and tainted officers
in his ministry?
“Why he refused to react to the
compendium of corrupt
activities of the Vice Chancellor,
UNN, which were articulated by
the unions?”
They, therefore, demanded the
immediate reinstatement of the
pro-chancellor, vowing that
anything on the contrary,
activities on the campus will
remain paralyzed.
“In view of the foregoing, the
unions demand the immediate
and unconditional
reinstatement of Dr. Emeka
Enejere as the chairman UNN
Governing Council.
“We have had enough of this
impunity; we request Mr.
President to intervene and call
the minister to order”, they
said.
DailyPost gathered that until
the Pro-Chancellor’s
suspension, he had been in
running battle with the Vice-
Chancellor.
A source told our
correspondent that unlike the
former Pro-Chancellor, Enejere
had continued to insist that
due process must be followed
in all the dealings in the UNN.
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