By Angela Mbaocha
A peace meeting between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and Ebonyi state governor, David Nweze Umahi, on Tuesday, to resolve the disagreement between the Ebonyi State University, (EBSU) chapter of the Union and the State government ended in deadlock.
ASUU delegation, led by its National Vice Chairman Academics, Emmanuel Osodeke, was in the state to mediate on the dispute.
The delegation visited the Governor at the Government House, Abakaliki, and at the end of the meeting, Osodeke, told journalists that the meeting failed to resolve the dispute.
According to him, the delegation decided to meet with Governor Umahi, who is the Visitor to the University, because the governing board dissolved by the governor has not been reconstituted.
He retorted that the governor, instead of focusing on the issues, decided to tackle the chairman of Ebonyi State University, (EBSU) chapter of ASUU, Ikechukwu Igwenyi.
he said: “Minor issues of personality and persons became the major issue rather than the issues affecting EBSU and that was why the meeting ended in deadlock.
“Instead of talking about EBSU, we are talking about the EBSU-ASUU chairman and calling him a boy and saying that he is abusing him (the visitor) and therefore he, the visitor, will not relate with the chairman anymore” .
Osodeke said the delegation would meet with the lecturers today before the union at the national level decides the next step to take.
He added: “The threat against ASUU-EBSU Chairman was repeated again today by the governor that if anything happens here, he will be held responsible.”
Commissioner for Education in the state, Onyebuchi Chima, however, said the delegation came with “wrong information” on the situation.
