Rabiu Omaku
fresh facts have emerged as three Unions, The Senior Staff Union of College of Education, (SSUCOEN) Akwanga, College of Education Staff Union (COESU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) has sent a save if soul message to the state Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule to intervene in the impasses between the Governing Council of the College and the above Unions.
The three Unions under the headships of SSUCOEN, Comrade Festus Aga, COESU chairman Edward T.Daniel and Comrade Akaba Joshua Peter of NASU has revealed that the chairman of the Governing Council, Dr.Ishaya Awotu despite pressures mounted on him by the College Unions to ensure the fulfillment of the recent and previous committees failed.
It was learned that the chairman collected graft from the former Registrar of the College Audu Safiyanu and then Desk Officer of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Benbela Madaki to select them for the key positions.
The College of Education Academic Staff Union (COESU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and SSUCOEN in a two-page press statement jointly signed by Comrade Edward T.Daniel of COESU and Akaba Joshua Peter of NASU and Festus Aga stated that the key position in the College has been politicized.
SSUCOEN, COESU, and NASU said they would resist the use of external influence to impose people with questionable character or unpopular candidates as members of the management team, saying by so doing would drag the College backward.
The Unions called on the Governing Council to take into cognizance of the content of the previous and recent white paper and should adhere strictly to the process of constituting the College management. with the unending crisis over the exalted seats.
The three Unions insisted that only insiders from the College know the hiccups of the teacher’s institute, promising to resist any attempt to impose an outsider against the existing laws establishing the College of Education Akwanga.
According to the statement, “We condemn with a strong voice the unnecessary delay by the Council to conclude the process of selecting substantive management.
The external influence was geared towards influencing and politicizing the nomination process of our principal officers.
We are ready to resist the imposition of any questionable candidate who will take the College back.
Insisted on the selection of principal officers within the system.
The Unions also hinged on the adherence to recent and previous recommendations of the white papers.
Feelers revealed that the Joint Unions of the College were invited for dialogue as well as to fine-tune the way out, It was gathered that the Deputy Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe directed the chairman Governing Council, Dr. Awotu, and his members to do the needful by implementing the recent and previous white papers but he failed to deaf ears.
The Chairman Governing Council, College of Education, Akwanga, Dr.Ishaya Awotu has denied collecting graft from the former desk officer of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Benbella Madaki, and the former Registrar of the College, Audu Safiyanu so as to present their names as anointed candidates.
The officials of the College were amongst the two management team indicted by the probe committee headed by late Hussaini Hashim, The chairman described the allegations as mere imagination to indict the Governing Council.
Dr.Awotu disclosed this in a telephone interview with a selected Journalist, He said the two officials are the staff of the College and are qualify to hold key sensitive offices as far as they are the staff of the College.
‘’Is a mere imagination by people that didn’t mean well to the College that we are doing our best to fixed things in order’’.
The chairman opined that the information making round was meant to distract the Council from doing it work diligently.
He, however, urged the College of Education Academic Union (COESU) Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and SSUCOEN to focused on their responsibility instead of distracting the Council from its assignment.