BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
THE National body of the Ebonyi State University Alumni Association has called on the state government, University management, council and staff to come to the roundtable to resolve their differences.
This, it said, would pave the way for prompt resumption of academic activities in the university.
The Alumni made its stand known in Abakaliki during an enlarged emergency meeting of the National body to look into the lingering industrial unrest ravaging the institution.
During an interview with The Point shortly after the meeting, the National President of the Association, Kenneth Ereke, said, “We are here to deliberate on the issues going on in our alma mater, Ebonyi State University, which have crippled activities here for the past months. It has been in the public domain that the management, the council, government and staff are having issues.
“So, as alumni members, we felt it was necessary to come together to look at those issues and find the ways forward.”
The National President appealed to the state government, University management, council, staff and even the alumni to accept sacrifices for the progress of the university, considering the current economic situation in the country.
He said, “The members collectively agreed that there was a need for us to sustain our university. So to that effect, we are telling the government, management, council and staff to do all within their reach to ensure that our university is not crippled in any way.
“We want effective teaching and learning activities to resume there. We want the university to move on. We also advise everyone of them to put aside his/her personal interest for the good of the university.
“We urge them to come back to the roundtable to re-evaluate those grey areas for amicable resolution. The Alumni is calling on the government, council, management, staff and even its members to be ready to make some sacrifices for the progress of the university.”
According to the National President, the country today is in a very precarious stage.
“Even in families, sacrifices are being made, so we should equally be ready to make sacrifices for the sustenance of our alma mater. We encourage the students to continue to exercise patience while efforts are being made to resolve all the issues,” he advised.
He said, “We witnessed the recent #EndSARS protests that eventually metamorphosed into a destructive protest. We use this medium to urge all students of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, to keep away from such protests. Any protest that will lead to destruction of lives and properties is uncalled for. We also thank the government and management, staff and every other person for the contributions they have been making to ensure the progress of the university.
“We have set up a five-man technical committee to interphase with the various actors to ensure that all these issues are resolved. The committee is saddled with the responsibility of identifying the grey areas, mediating with the various actors to facilitate prompt resumption. The committee is also expected to report back to the alumni in two weeks.”
Recall that there has been a lingering disagreement between the state government, management of the state university and staff, which has led to non-payment of staff salaries for many months and the proscription of all labour unions in the university with the exception of the Students Union Government by Governor David Umahi.
Meanwhile, members of the alumni also observed one minute silence for their departed member, Nnamdi Ojukwu, who was appointed Supervisory Councillor in his local government area but died before his swearing in ceremony.
