The Vice Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, (MOUAU) Abia state, Prof. Maduebibisi Iwe says there was colossal damage to the university by the protesting students warning that they will have themselves to blame for the action they took.
Professor Iwe stated this while briefing the Press about what he described as riot which thieves and miscreants took over and used the cover of students’ protests to destroy valuable assets in the school.
He maintained that the implementation of “no registration no examination policy” is not a new policy and also not an act of wickedness, “it has been here and in all normal Universities across the world, an education policy adopted even in kindergarten”.
He denied the claims that a 60 per cent hike in fees was imposed on the students.
Explaining further said “Some of these students used their school fees for betting, they are the population that uphold sorting with those lecturers who have refused to repent from sorting,this population are busy forging university receipts and documents, they have gone to the level of forging bank remitta that leads to a huge loss of university funds.
They forge university statement of result and escape with piled up academic credits as well as charges accruing to the university. These are the kind of battles we have been fighting in the last three years.
Professor Maduebibisi Iwe raised an alarm over the prevalence of fake certificates and transcripts in the international community that were not issued by the university.
“The international communities have been loading us with all manner of fake certificates from this university to verify and it is actually becoming alarming. People print our certificates and transcripts and use them to fish for admission and jobs without such document emanating from us.
He also indicted some lecturers in the university for indulging in “sorting” and for opposing the biometric policy.
“These are the reasons for us to adopt the biometric capture, a system we use in banks and embassies. Our students and their disgruntled lecturer supporters do not want it because it will reveal their nefarious trade, should we keep clapping for them? my administration says no!. Iwe reiterated.
He noted also that a particular radio station in Umuahia through the everyday phone-in program ignited the crisis of the university adding that without verifying what the students have earlier told them on the “no fee no examination policy” started airing wrong information and people were calling in to comment.
In his words “we toured the campus this morning and have seen things for ourselves. Students will not have been stupid to burn their lecture theatre and library (arson) attempted looting a bank on campus, looting laboratories, shattering glasses of all building, pulling down walls built to secure them, damaging donor projects.
“These actions I am sure were performed by miscreants who forced the students to join them. But students will have themselves to blame for allowing themselves to be used as cover.
The Student Union Government were not part of what happened, inf act I commend them for the role they played in ensuring peace”. Pro Iwe stated.
The Vice Chancellor disclosed that he was not manhandled by the students as reported by some media houses, “what happened is that as I was driving down the university, I saw the students coming I told my driver to stop that I need to address them, I came out while addressing the students some of them became violent and my security man had to take me away for safety”.
He also denied reports that the military was deployed to shoot students, saying that such did not happen.
He added that the situation in Nigeria had drastically affected the university and they took measures to ensure they do not go out of market.
“The university management prepared charges required for this session in conjunction with the student union leaders and agreed on what eventually was sent to Senate for final approval, we must note at this point that the cost of running the University astronomically increased from October, 2023, as at September 2023, we were paying forty four million naira for a truck of thirty three thousand litres of diesel to provide light and water for the university apart of expenses of running the entire university, today the same thirty three thousand litres is sold for fifty four to fifty six million naira which we must consume within four to five weeks.
Meanwhile, the overhead cost we receive to run the university is nine million naira per month while our total expenses in a month is close to one hundred million naira”. The VC said.
It will be recalled that the students of MOUAU protested against the management of the university who maintained that there will be no examination for those who did not pay their school fees.
There was a lot of damage done while noting that they are still quantifying the level of destruction.
The Senate of the university would meet to determine the level of destruction caused by hoodlums and the appropriate sanction to impose on any identified culprits among the students, he reiterated.
