Judex Okoro, Calabar
Academy Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) chapter and Governor Ben Ayade have been on warpath over the appointment of substantive vice chancellor of the institution.
Besides, the alleged sacked civil servants have continued to occupy government house to protest removal of their names from the pay roll.
In February 2019, the tenure of former Vice Chancellor, Anthony Eno, ended and the university visitor, Governor Ayade, appointed an acting Vice Chancellor, Akon Joshua, and since then there has been no love lost between the union and the governor.
In an interactive session with newsmen, the ASUU Chairman, CRUTECH chapter, Emmanuel Ettah, disclosed that Joshua’s tenure ends on Thursday, November 7, 2019 and they expect Governor Ayade to appoint a new vice chancellor from among the five names submitted by the institution’s Governing Council to him.
Ettah, however, revealed that there is a plot to appoint an acting vice chancellor outside the five names submitted to Governor Ayade, vowing that they would cripple academic activities if due process was not followed in appointing a new vice chancellor. He said: “On Thursday, November 7, 2019 will be six months when Joshua was appointed to pilot the affairs of the university. Before then, the council was not constituted. But a month ago, the governing council was constituted under Emil Inyang leadership.”
In his reaction, Inyang, said: “The council has been working in line with the law governing the institution and in consideration that the governor is the visitor to the institution.
“The law permits us to appoint an acting vice chancellor from anywhere and for another three months. So, ASUU should be patient with the governor.”