Former Vice President Alex Ekwueme And His People Want Prof Onu To Pack And Go , Say Second Tenure

PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED BY OKO COMMUNITY ON THE LINGERING LEADERSHIP CRISIS AT THE FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, OKO, TODAY, THE 21^ST DAY OF MARCH, 2014.

Good Morning Gentlemen of the Press. We are here this morning to address you on recent developments at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko. Of course, Federal Polytechnic,  Oko and indeed  Oko Community have, of late,  been in the news for the wrong reason.

Federal Polytechnic, Oko as we all know was established on the facilities entirely developed by Oko Community through self-help community development efforts sponsored by our very illustrious son, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria  and handed over to the Federal Government of Nigeria by  Oko Community several years before IDEOKO assumed public office. This has to be contrasted with other situations where government acquires virgin lands, develops and establishes whatever institution it intends with little contribution from the prospective host community.

It has been the policy of government over the years to rely on and collaborate with host communities of government institutions to protect, safeguard and secure the existence, security, welfare and interest of such institutions. Specifically, government has usually depended on host communities for the security and welfare of federal institutions and installations within their domains and this is understandable since such host communities are usually on ground and are the most important stakeholders with the greatest interests in such projects next only to that of the government.  This policy of government remains in place and Oko Community has been particularly outstanding in the discharge of this responsibility, to the federal government of Nigeria as host community of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko over these years.

This forms the basis of the present interest shown and position taken by Oko Community on the leadership of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko. We sincerely believe in keeping with practice, that Oko Community is entitled to be taken into confidence by government in the choice of who takes the mantle of leadership thereat. The decision is, no doubt, that of government, but we believe it will serve the best interest of all and promote peace, law and order, and harmonious co-existence that conduce to the smooth execution of the statutory functions of the Polytechnic, if the host community is carried along in such matters.

POSITION OF OKO COMMUNITY

The tenure of office of the erstwhile Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Professor Godwin Onu expired on 4^th March, 2014. We maintain that any renewal of such tenure before now, long before its expiration date is illegal, ultra vires and of no effect. There is a Governing Council in place as at the date of the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent and the Federal Polytechnics Act is clear on the procedure to follow on such event. As we demand for due process, we have dutifully but humbly advised the Federal Government of Nigeria not to renew his tenure as Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Oko for obvious and compelling reasons. This is our position as the host community of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko.     

OBVIOUS AND COMPELLING REASONS

 Professor Godwin Onu has failed woefully to manage himself peacefully and operate smoothly and harmoniously within his work environment and is at daggers drawn with virtually everybody in his workplace. He goes to war with his host community for every flimsy reason. Within the Polytechnic Community itself, he is at war with all the staff unions. In fact, we are aware that NASU, ASUP and SSANIP of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko have all petitioned federal authorities against the renewal of his tenure citing numerous instances of leadership failure and abrasive and crises-prone style of administration of the Rector.

 Professor Godwin  Professor Godwin Onu apparently came to Oko with enormous hatred and animosity against  Oko Community notwithstanding the support he enjoyed from Oko during his efforts to secure the position of Rector. He seizes every opportunity to victimize, blackmail, scandalize, punish and sabotage his host community and her interests. A few instances will suffice.

·        Polytechnic relocation saga: Early in his tenure sometime in 2011, Oko Community stumbled upon a document from the Rector’s home village of Ezira addressed to Professor Godwin Onu as Rector Federal Polytechnic, Oko making the premises of Victory High School, Ezira available to Federal Polytechnic, Oko for use as a campus of the Polytechnic. On further probe, it was revealed that he made promises to his kinsmen that he would not leave Oko before he had brought a campus of the School to his village. We also discovered that he had already procured Polytechnic Management’s approval of the Ezira offer. Of course he flatly denied this when confronted but subsequent events in the school put a bold question mark on Professor Godwin Onu’s integrity as a person. However, we did not fail to remind him that if all the Rectors that have served at Oko before him had taken campuses away from Oko, there probably would be no Polytechnic at Oko today for him to preside over as Rector. We know that Federal Polytechnic, Oko is a creation of an Act of National Assembly.  Professor Godwin Onu obviously lacks the powers to unilaterally relocate the school or create a campus but when less than a year later in the aftermath of the  Professor Godwin Onu induced students rampage in 2012, he put together one nebulous students body called West African Students Union who after paying him a visit in his office on 15^th April, 2012 came out to address a press conference calling on the Minister of Education to move a motion at the Federal Executive Council for relocation of Federal Polytechnic, Oko “to a more friendly town”, (ostensibly to Prof Onu’s Ezira!) we knew it was the voice of Jacob and hand of Esau. That was when we realised the motive behind the sponsorship of the students’ riot of that year, just to portray Oko as a hostile community not conducive to continue to play host to Federal Polytechnic, Oko! Of course this political theory according to Professor Godwin Onu was too childish to serve its purpose.  

·        The 2012 Professor Godwin Onu organised students’ Rampage: A very violent students riot took place in Oko on 26^th March, 2012. We have said it before that Professor Godwin Onu regards Oko as one large political science laboratory for the experimentation of his treacherous political theories. A few aspects of that riot drive home our conviction that Professor Godwin Onu masterminded that attack on Oko to achieve his malicious but ill-conceived schemes against the Town that afforded him the opportunity to be a Rector in his life. One biting the finger that feeds him is the height of ingratitude and treachery. i. That riot was procured by falsehood and blackmail – that Oko people killed four students and that one pregnant female student lost her pregnancy via miscarriage. ii. The Polytechnic Management under Professor Godwin Onu did nothing before and during the riots to prevent or stop it, instead he provided pre-arranged chartered luxury buses to evacuate the rioting students to hotels in Awka and Nnewi once they were through with their ‘assignment’. iii. Once the riots were over, he immediately got about 17 Oko indigenes arrested for trying to stop the rioting students, accused them of shooting students and arraigned them in Court the next day. Not a single rioter was arraigned. The rioters arrested by the police during the riots were released on Professor Godwin Onu’s orders. iv. He refused that students should sign any undertaking to be of good behaviour before returning to the school as is normally done after violent students’ demonstrations! He even opted to pay compensations to victims of the riots as recommended by the Panel he set up from Polytechnic coffers on behalf of the rioters. He only paid the first batch of victims only 50% of the recommended compensation and till today has refused to pay anything more in spite of the agreement reached with Oko Community and his promises to that effect. v. Above all, the Panel he set up to investigate the causes of the 2012 students’ riots ended up indicting  Professor Godwin Onu and his management when it found inter alia that “the security department of the polytechnic did not take any noticeable action to frustrate or control the riot”, that “there has not been previous orientation of students especially the new intakes about the culture of the host community”, that “the panel frowned at the fact that the students did not explore available opportunities to resolve their grievances before resorting to violence. For instance the office of the director of student affairs was not consulted nor briefed on the development before and during the riot,” and finally that “there should be cordial relationship between the polytechnic and the host community. Every communication gap between the polytechnic and the community leaderships needs to be closed in the interest of both parties”. Alas, this gap has continued to be widened by Professor Godwin Onu ever since then! vi. Professor Godwin Onu has refused to allow this report see the light of the day notwithstanding that the Panel had since concluded its work and duly signed and submitted the report simply because he was not allowed to teleguide the Panel and its findings.  

·        Host Community controversy and Governing Council: The clearest demonstration of Professor Godwin Onu’s capacity to generate crisis from nothing and his penchant for maligning his host community at every slightest opportunity is this artificial controversy over who is the host community of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko. Federal Polytechnics Act did not establish Federal Polytechnic, Oko as a multi campus Polytechnic. However Oko Community is not opposed to the internal arrangements that authorised the operation of Ufuma and Atani as campuses of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko. In the 22 years history of Federal Polytechnic, Oko as a federal polytechnic, none of these ‘campuses’ had considered themselves entitled to contest host community status against Oko Community. In his mindless pursuit of undeserved second term Professor Godwin Onu felt that a representative of Oko Community in the Governing Council during consideration of his second term ambition may militate against his interest and therefore decided to generate this artificial controversy to at least delay the emergence of Oko Community Representative in the Council until after the conclusion of the consideration of his tenure agenda. Today, more than six months after inauguration of the Council of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, that Council is sitting without a representative of the host community. Is this fair? Inspite of all attempts to incite these communities against  Oko Community and instigate artificial crisis, these communities still have not seen enough reason to take up arms against  Oko Community over who the host community of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko is. Professor Godwin Onu is singlehandedly sustaining the controversy. If Enugu with full statutory capacity and legal status of UNEC could not contest the host community status against Nsukka over University of Nigeria Nsukka, how does Ufuma or Atani fare with the peculiar legal status of their ‘campuses’?

·        Corruption of Our Youths, Impersonation of Oko Community Leaders and Instigation of Crises within Oko Community Leadership:  The pervasive corrupting influences and crises generating appetite of  Professor Godwin Onu knows no bounds. He breaches all protocols and conventions guiding relationships between government institutions and their host communities and this has become a source of constant friction and persistent potential flashpoint in the town. He doles out large sums of corrupt money and dubious patronage to our youths and relates with them directly without going through the Town Union. He encourages them and a few non-conformist elements within Oko Community to impersonate Oko Community Leadership, forge their signatures and sign all manner of documents and confer fraudulent awards on Professor Godwin Onu in the name of Oko Community all in his bid to hoodwink the public and make the government believe that Oko Community supports  Professor Godwin Onu’s second term ambition. He interferes with the internal affairs of the Community and works to destabilize the Town Union. These are things unheard of with all previous Rectors before the advent of Professor Godwin Onu in Oko. He imports unscrupulous individuals from his home village Ezira and parades them within the premises of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko and to the Federal Ministry of Education officials in Abuja as Leaders of Oko Community. He does not harbour the slightest respects for Oko and her indigenes including the most outstanding personalities within Oko Community. 

·         Professor Godwin Onu is not qualified to be a Rector in a Polytechnic: His appointment as Rector Federal Polytechnic, Oko ab initio is in error and is in breach of the extant rules guiding the appointment of heads of educational institutions. He is a professor of political science, which is not part of the curricula of a polytechnic. Political science is not a course taught in the polytechnic and he has no business presiding thereat as rector. 

THE SITUATION NOW

For all intents and purposes, Professor Godwin Onu’s tenure as Rector Federal Polytechnic, Oko expired on the 4^th day of March, 2014. We do not know why an acting Rector has not been appointed. We do not know why the process for appointment of a new Rector has not been activated by the government in accordance with the procedure clearly spelt out in the Federal Polytechnics Act. We also do not know why he is still signing bank instruments in the name of the polytechnic and still moving large sums of money about plundering and looting the school silly. Occasionally we hear EFCC operatives are in the school and we wonder if these are fake EFCC personnel since these criminal activities apparently take place under their noses. We have said it that Professor Godwin Onu’s capacity to corrupt ‘even the elect’ knows no bounds. We therefore hereby call on the EFCC authorities to be very careful with Professor Godwin Onu and send only the most trusted operatives to the polytechnic.

We have complained in our petition to the Honourable Minister of Education about the militarization of Oko Community by Professor Godwin Onu. Right now not less than 8 fully loaded police patrol trucks have been deployed to man the gates and roads around the polytechnic on daily basis. Government we know has enough security challenges on its hands now. We wonder how government intends to sustain Professor Godwin Onu in office in Oko by sheer force of arms just for the sake of a man who has failed to grasp the most rudimentary demands of seamless operation within his work environment.

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE POLYTECHNIC

 Oko Community notes with utter dismay, the unguided utterances of the Chairman of the Council of the Polytechnic against the leadership of Oko Community during a press conference addressed by the Council on Tuesday, 11th March, 2014. The octogenarian Chairman was quoted as having described the well-considered petition addressed to the Honourable Minister of Education by the leadership of Oko Community as emanating from “a group of Oko people” whom he went ahead to also describe as a cabal, borrowing from the Rector who had also described the constituted authority of  Oko Community as a cabal. The chairman also dabbled into sundry issues including those that happened before his appointment into the council of Federal Polytechnic, Oko like the March 25, 2012 students riot! By jumping into issues quite outside their knowledge and hastily taking sides in a matter they were expected to handle as statesmen and women, the council has lost the capacity and moral pedestal to carry out their statutory duties and to function effectively in Oko. We demand for their immediate dissolution and for the appointment of a new council better positioned to tackle the myriad of problems created by Professor Godwin Onu at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko. The council chairman may have been overwhelmed by his enjoyment of undeserved perks of his new found office and easily lost his mental balance and sense of decency, otherwise what do you expect from an over eighty years old man who suddenly landed a brand new Prado SUV, Hilux and siren blaring convoy at this age, luxury he never had at any time earlier in his life? Decorum demands you enjoy your privileges silently and not insult the man whose sweats made it possible for you to access such privileges. The minimum expected from Mr. Odunukwe would have been to ask for the whereabouts of the host community’s representative in his governing council and assume responsibility for the appointment of a new rector as the council is empowered so to do by the enabling laws!      

OUR DEMAND

 Oko Community with full sense of responsibility and in continued discharge of her duties as host community of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, drawing from the foregoing reasons and more, has come to the conclusion that continued stay of Professor Godwin Onu as Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Oko does not augur well for the polytechnic, militates against her development and has been rejected by all stakeholders in the school, the entire staff, students and the host community and therefore his tenure should not be renewed and or should be terminated forthwith. All staff unions in the Polytechnic have vowed to continue their strike if Professor Godwin Onu is allowed to return as rector under whatever guise. On our part, Oko Community has resolved to occupy the Polytechnic if Professor Godwin Onu returns and would not vacate the premises until he is removed. He is notorious for engaging in excessive use of police might to enforce his unpopular actions and we hereby humbly notify the government that Oko Community will not be prepared to allow the return of Professor Godwin Onu UNLESS he is prepared to shoot all of us to clear his way.          

Thank you all for your attention.

Mr. Ike C. Nwammuo                   HRH Igwe Prof. Laz E.N. Ekwueme, NNOM, OON

(National President)                                              (EZEIJIKALLA II, Igwe of Oko)

FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE OKO COMMUNITY

  This address was read by the National Legal Adviser of Oko Peoples Union , Barr Uchenna Okonkwo Okom, a former lawmaker