Hon. Benjamin Kalu, House of Reps deputy speaker.
By Charity Iwu
A plea has gone out to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to prevail onHon. Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, to desist from meddling in the internal affairs of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU).
A political pressure group, Abia Renaissance for Good Governance, which made the call, alleged that the Deputy Speaker wanted to dictate to the University who it should appoint as the Deputy Vice Chancellor
At a Media briefing in Umuahia, Mazi Ikoro Kanu, the group’s Cordinator, alleged that Kalu, working in concert wih Prof. Maduebibisi Iwe, the current Vice-Chancellor, was hell bent on imposing one Prof. Ursla Akanwa as the next DVC against the wishes of even the majority of the University Senate whose duty it is to elect such.
Kanu said the most annoying thing was that the Deputy Speaker who hails from Bende in Abia State was dropping the name of Tinubu in “this sinister plot”.
He said not withstanding the fact that the said Prof. Akanwa hails from Imo State, Kalu wanted to short change an Abia son who is even more qualified for the job.
Said he: “One of the two DVCs, Prof. Udo Herbert’s tenure is ending in a few weeks’ time. The most qualified person to replace him should also be from Abia State or any other State, but certainly not Imo State since the other DVC, Prof. Asawalam is already from Imo State”
He described as unfortunate and disheartening that even when Kalu was told that Akanwa could not be DVC or VC because she did not have a degree in agriculture as provided by the extant law, he was still insisting that she should be appointed.
Mazi Kanu noted that although, the front runner for the DVC post, Prof. S. N. Ukachukwu, hails from the same village with the current Vice Chancellor, another person from Abia State should be given the post.
He disclosed that the race for the DVC post was actually a rehearsal for the main contest for who should be the next Vice-Chancellor to succeed Prof. Maduebibisi Iwe.
He therefore urged the ASUU president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, who is a staff of MOUAU to work in concert with other progressive minds to ensure that the university did not become an appendage of the office of the Deputy Speaker.
Mazi Kanu noted with regret that both Kalu and other unnamed politicians were planning to turn MOUAU into a battle ground with the upcoming contest for the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor.
He warned that his group would not stand by and watch selfish politicians appropriate MOUAU as their fiefdom.
