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From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Members of the University of Nigeria Nsukka Alumni Association (UNNAA) have accused the management of the institution of undue interference in the factional crisis rocking the association.
The members are blaming the management and the institution’s governing board for allegedly orchestrating the factional leadership crisis for selfish interest.
This is the position of a group of the UNNAA that visited the management of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, Delta State.
Led by Dr (Mrs) Linda Agua-Onyekwelu, president of the faction of the association, the group insisted that the university has no right to interfere in the affairs of the Alumni association.
National Legal Adviser of the association Louis Alozie, SAN, civil rights activist, maintained that one Okolo was illegally parading herself as president of UNNAA, insisting that “we don’t recognise her as our president.
“The university has no right to interfere in the affairs of the UNN Alumni Association. We are angry, we are not happy. Okolo is not our president. We don’t recognise her as our president. The university has no right to tell us not to hold elections.”
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President of the association Dr Agua-Onyekwelu, who was in the delegation to FMC also in solidarity with the Asaba branch chairman of UNNAA, Dr Milton Utomi, an employee of the hospital, said the branch hosted the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting last month at the Admiralty University, Ibusa, where she was elected
According to her, the Okolo-led faction had last week visited the hospital to report Dr Utomi to the management for hosting the NEC meeting and allegedly swindling the association in the process.
Dr Agua-Onyekwelu told the FMC Asaba Medical Director, Dr Victor Osiatuma, who was represented by the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee of the hospital, Dr Emmanuel Ezunu, that Okolo was an imposter not known to the Owerri branch where she claimed to belong.
She explained that trouble started in 2019 after the tenure of Dr Andrew Oru as national president.
She said from then on, the association has been characterised by inefficiency, high-handedness and lack of accountability, even as all attempts to hold a convention to elect new officers were allegedly scuttled by the university authority.
Dr Agua-Onyekwelu further stated that concerned members of the association, who were dissatisfied with the state of the body and the undue interference of the institution with the politics of the association, decided to hold a convention, in line with the provisions of the association’s constitution.
According to her, shortly after she was elected national president at the convention, the university authority allegedly sponsored a counter convention to produce a splinter group executive.
