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•Ebonyi college unions bow to new provost after protest
From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The Academic Staff Union of Colleges of Agriculture (ASUCA) and the Joint Action Unions (JAU) at the Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, Ebonyi State have bowed to the newly appointed Provost of the institution, Prof. Agwu Ekwe, after they had earlier rejected his appointment and staged series of protests, which paralyzed academic activities.
The staff unions had prevented the acting Provost, Dr. Jonah Nwawuisi last week from handing over to the new provost. They shutdown the school, locked the entrance gate and the provost office to show their anger over the appointment of Agwu as the substantive provost.
But the following day, the new helmsman stormed the college and took control of the institution amidst tight security.
“The acting Provost, Dr. Nwawuisi 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 unions officials not to resist him or fight and they should be civil.
“So, the unions 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 ASUCA, Dr. Kadurumba Chukwuemeka told Daily Sun.
The substantive provost had stormed the campus amid heavy security presence and forcibly assumed control of the institution, ending days of confusion in the college over its leadership.
The situation escalated when armed personnel, including soldiers, police officers, and Department of State Services (DSS) operatives, escorted the new provost into the school after the main gate—earlier locked by aggrieved unions—was forced open.
Eyewitnesses described the tense atmosphere as academic and non-academic unions resisted what they called conflicting directives between the substantive Provost, Prof. Ekwe, and the acting Provost, Dr. Nwawuisi.
The face-off reportedly left staff confused, with the Chairman of the Joint Union Action, Dr. ThankGod Nwaneri, stating that he received contradictory instructions from both leaders.
Nwaneri said “Before now, we have an acting provost in the person of Dr. Jonah Nwawuisi. This is an illegal appointment that was done on the April 10th, 2026 when they appointed one Prof. Ekwe.
“As a matter of fact, we do not know the actual provost for now because yesterday (Monday), two different persons gave me instructions as the provost and I disregarded the instructions because I don’t know the one to follow.
“The issue on ground is we have qualified persons who applied for the position and after the submission of applications, they have not been invited for interviews either oral or written till today,” he told the reporter in the school on the day the new provost was expected to take over from the acting provost.
In a swift twist, Nwawuisi reportedly stepped down and complied with what sources described as a federal government directive, paving the way for Prof. Ekwe’s takeover on Tuesday, April 14.
After gaining access through the efforts of security agencies, the new provost addressed staff and students and took full administrative control of the institution under tight security watch.
The dramatic development left the campus tense, marking a forceful end to the leadership standoff that gripped the school.
The new provost of the college, while addressing staff and students of the school, said his administration will take proactive steps to centralize revenue generation, curb leakages and avoid waste. He promised to reposition the college for academic excellence and regain its lost accreditation.
He added: “I hope to develop, in collaboration with the private sector, an investment plan that will enable the college to establish an endowment fund within the first two years of my administration.”
Agwu further disclosed plans to adopt prudent financial guidelines, including setting aside a fixed percentage of internally generated revenue to ensure sustainability and emphasized the importance of increasing funding through institutional research grants.
Nwawuisi, the former acting provost said protest against the appointment of Ekwe as the substantive provost was ignited by the joint unions, which rejected his appointment.
“This was the handiwork of some insignificant elements that want to cause chaos in the institution but I am happy the security agents took control of it.
“You can see now that the insinuations is false, we don’t have two provosts but one and in person of Prof. Ekwe and he took over from me on Tuesday.
“Yes I was appointed acting provost of the college last year while Prof Ekwe was appointed substantive provost on the 10th of this month and now he has taken over from me, so there is no problem in the school. You can see he was received by both staff and students” Nwawuisi added.
He advised the new provost to hit the ground running saying that with the vast experience of Ekwe, the institution will regain her lost glory.
Pandemonium gripped the college on Monday, April 13th, 2026, when the alleged leadership clash threw the institution into turmoil, leaving staff confused and academic activities disrupted.
