A group, United Front and Action Against Obaseki’s Anti-AAU Ekpoma, has accused the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Asue Ighodalo, of plotting to recruit a new crop of teachers at Ambrose Alli University(AAU), after a mass sack of the current lecturers, if he wins the forthcoming September 21 election.
Mr. Ighodalo had last weekend during a visit to Esan Recreation Club, Ekpoma, remarked that sex-for-grade, undue graduation of students overseas and corruption against lecturers in the school were the major problems of the state owned tertiary institution.
In a joint statement by the Coordinator and Secretary, Comrades Henry Osemudiamen and Justice Agbebo respectively on Wednesday in Ekpoma and made available to journalists in Benin, the pro-Edo Central organization expressed disappointment that little or nothing was said by the main oppositon party candidate about the university’s core problems of government neglect of funding, crisis of payment of salary, mismanagement, administrative impunity and illegal continuation of repressive activities by the Special Intervention Team (SIT) in the school.
Osemudiamen and Agbebo noted that instead of focusing on the obvious compromise and refusal by the Governor Godwin Obaseki administration to release and act on several panel reports which exposed academic corruption, financial embezzlement/mismanagement, maladministration and the culprits in the university, including those of the Visitation Panel and due-diligence, Mr. Ighodalo chose to dwell on unsubstantiated and wild allegations.
They charged: “Asue’s utterances portend evil agenda and are at best a betrayal of his resolve to continue the Governor Godwin Obaseki’s agenda in the university which the people of Edo Central have resolved to resist in the coming gubernatorial election.”
They further accused Mr. Ighodalo of lacking courage to speak out against the atrocities of SIT and its present illegality in the institution, which has received public outcry and condemnation.
They however accused the authorities responsible for the crisis in the school of misinforming and influencing Mr. Ighodalo’s opinion about the true and objective situation of things in the university.
They chided the PDP candidate: “For Mr. Ighodalo to have degenerated to quoting cheap and wild blackmail, accusation and propaganda by the powers that be to the effect that the Chief Lawson Omokhodion-led Governing Council purchased an official car for N300 million for the former Chairman of the Governing Council attests to imminent or ominous sign of evil days ahead of the university if he wins the election.
“These allegations being peddled with assistance of the PDP governorship candidate are false and deliberate attempt aimed at diverting attention and responsibility.”
They continued: “Mr. Ighodalo said little or nothing about any future plan of adequate funding of the university, restoration of autonomy and the resolution of other critical problems of the institution, including the administrative aberration, victimization of staff and salary crisis. Many staff of the university have not been paid salaries for over two years for no reasonable and just cause.”
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