As reactions continue to trail the dissolving of the governing council of the University of Port Harcourt by the Federal Government, Professor Andrew Efemini has praised the Federal Government for the intervention.
The professor of philosophy in a statement to Theportcitynews on Sunday reiterated that since 2017, the Governing Council became illegal and illegitimate because 6 new members were introduced into the Council through deliberate violation of the University Act.
He said the violation is about cutting short the tenure of Council membership, adding that the law stipulates 4years tenure but Senate and Congregation were manipulated to reduce the tenure to 2years.
“Those who violated the law tried to explain it away by saying it was Senate and Congregation that did it. Unfortunately for them, the law stipulates that no section of the law shall be amended or altered without the approval of the President who is the Visitor.
“Let those who violated the law and their supporters show us the President’s approval.
” In 2019, the Law was again violated through gangster voting of 6 persons from Senate and Congregation. Unlike 2017 where dispute about how to elect Convocation representative stalled the process, in 2019 a deal was struck to send a representative from Convocation to Governing Council without an election. This again violates the Act which stipulates how elections should be conducted.
The former president of the Academic Staff Union of the Universities, ASUU said that the implication of the violations is that as at the time of dissolution of the Governing Council, not a single internal member had legitimacy.
“Just imagine the implications of illegal membership for the decisions of Council since 2017. Illegal Council was busy sacking, suspending and punishing staff and students.
” The same illegal Council were busy appropriating University funds for the Administration. The process of selecting the next Vice-Chancellor exposed the actual motive behind the introduction of illegal members to Council.
” Fortunately, justice has to come one way or another. There has to be a way of stopping the locomotive illegal engine of the illegal Council. People who should not be in Council found themselves in the Selection Committee for the Vice-Chancellor.
” This is where we must thank the Government for responding to the situation promptly. The dissolution of an illegal Council is not only just, it is a right move to restore order to the University. The rancorous communication from Governing Council to Government is bad enough. A house divided between illegal and legal members of Council”
He thanked the Government for saving Uniport from a deadly CABAL.
