Fresh crisis brews in FUTO over council election

Fresh trouble is brewing at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Imo State capital, following a new directive by the management of the institution to bar staff of the university below the grade-level 14 from contesting the proposed election into institution’s governing council.
The institution is currently under lock and key following the students’ riot that engulfed it few months ago.
At a meeting of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union of the university, the staff called on the management to postpone the election indefinitely pending when all issues relating to the poll were resolved if industrial peace is to reign in the university.
The aggrieved staff further urged the FUTO management to convene a non-elective congregation so that congregation could bring out regulations governing the conduct of the election.
They warned that under no circumstance should the election go on without the issues being resolved.
Addressing newsmen, chairman of FUTO JAC, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, complained that the labour unions took the decision to ensure status quo was maintained regarding qualification for the election, recalling that it had been the tradition in the university that election into the council had always remained open to members of congregation.
He recalled that the university Registrar had on February 10 issued a circular requesting anybody interested to contest election into the governing council to pick forms which deadline for submission then was February 24.
“One of the conditions in that circular is eligibility to contest the election. That first circular also stated that every member of congregation is eligible to contest the election and it took the Registrar two weeks to correct himself if there was any mistake at all in the initial circular.
This was after our members had picked forms and commenced intensive lobbying and campaigns with so much money spent in the process. So the unions are saying it’s wrong because previously our members had been contesting the election whether they were on professorial rank or below grade level 14. So we’re asking the postponement of the election until the issues are resolved”, Nwokoma said.