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From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The substantive Provost of the Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, Professor Agwu Ekwe, assumed leadership of the college on Tuesday.
The college was engulfed in crisis on Monday when he attempted to assume duty, with academic and non-academic staff locking the school gate and the provost’s office over his appointment, which they described as unacceptable and not in compliance with the Colleges of Agriculture rules on the appointment of a provost.
The situation, which caused tension and confusion at the college, forced the new provost to leave the institution, while academic and non-academic staff unions protested across the campus, paralysing academic activities.
Dr ThankGod Nwaneri, Chairman of the Joint Union Action of the institution, said two provosts—Dr Jonah Nwawuisi and Professor Agwu Ekwe—gave him instructions, which he ignored because he was unsure which to obey.
“Before now, we have an Acting Provost in the person of Dr. Jonah Nwawuisi. And I may say this is an illegal appointment that was done on the 10th of April, 2026 when they said they appointed one Professor Agwu Ekwe.
“As a matter of fact, we do not know the actual Provost for now because yesterday, two different persons gave me instructions as Provosts and I abandoned the instructions because I don’t know the one to follow.
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“The issue on ground is we have qualified persons who applied for the position and since after the submission of their applications credentials, they have not been invited for interviews either oral or written till today”, he said.
However, there was a twist in the crisis on Tuesday when the substantive provost took control of the college.
The entrance gate, which the academic and non-academic unions had locked, was broken, allowing the provost to enter the college and address staff and students.
There was a heavy presence of security agencies in the school as he assumed control of the college.
“The Acting Provost, Dr. Nwawuisi Jonah has handed over to the new Provost and he can’t say no to it because it is a federal government directive.
“The new Provost came in with soldiers, policemen, DSS officials and I told the Joint U people not to resist him or do any fight, they should be civil.
“So, the Joint Union Action (JUA) allowed the security agencies to break the gate and the new Provost entered the college and addressed those he saw in the college,” National President of Academic Staff Union of Colleges of Agriculture, Dr. Kadurumba Chukwuemeka told Daily Sun.
