Comrade Fidelis Edeh 

The Nigeria Police and relevant security agencies have been tasked to be vigilant and investigate urgently incidents of spread of false information at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, MOUAU with the sole motive of stirring up unrest in the university.


"I call upon the Nigerian Police Force and related security agencies to immediately investigate the deliberate spread of false information against the person of the Pro Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, MOUAU, Comrade Fidelis Edeh with the purpose of stirring up unrest in the peaceful University environment. I urge them to act fast before the situation spirals out of control", said Hon Emma Nwaka, a  former House of Assembly candidate in the 2019 General Election.


Nwaka in his statement stated that he was reacting to a concoction of falsehood  circulating online and titled "Tension mounts in MOUAU as Council Chairman seeks revenge against VC, Nto over Enugu election won by Gov Mba"


"I have gone severally through the article and could find no iota of truth in its orchestration of falsehood which attempted to string together unrelated pieces of information in order to stir up trouble in the University.


"For instance this fifth columnists attempted to insinuate that activities is almost at a standstill at MOUAU as Comrade Ede is  allegedly attempting to frustrate the Vice Chancellor Professor Maduebibisi Iwe who was the Returning Officer  over in the Governorship election of 2023 in Enugu State in which Governor Peter Mbah emerged governor. Prof Iwe is almost completing his tenure as the Vice Chancellor and nobody is after him.  Information reaching says activity is going on smoothly at MOUAU", says Nwaka who currently lives in the UK


Nwaka further explained that he took pains to cross check some of the allegations raised in the article and found some of them to be spurious concoctions of an imaginative, but negative person or groups of persons.


"For instance how can anybody with full understanding of the University environment talk about the Pro-Chancellor being the sole determinant whether the University can hold its convocation or not? When did the Senate cease from being the the Statutory Organ of the University  authorised to make decisions about academic events like Convocation. And in this instance, I understand the Senate has constituted the  University Ceremonials Committee to plan the 13th Convocation Ceremony and the process is ongoing. It's the Chancellor who is chairman of the Convocation ceremony that finally determines when it is held.


"The said concoction also accused the Pro-Chancellor of embargoing promotion of staff? How is that possible? The process is a time tested procedure which cannot be unilaterally tampered with. In the university,  promotion of staff starts with Departmental Appraisal Committee, chaired by the Head of Department, then to the College Appraisals Committee, chaired by the Dean, and then to the University Appraisal Committee, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor. There is also an Appointment and Promotion Committee of the Governing Council, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor,  which considers all appraisals and presents its recommendations on staff promotion to the Council for consideration and approval.


"I have gone to this lengthy and laborious explanations simply to establish that fifth columnists and disgruntled elements are bent on stirring up crisis at MOUAU and if the relevant authorities decides not to act proactively, the University may pay dearly for it.


"Information at our disposal indicate that the ongoing search for the successor to Prof Iwe seems to be the bone of contention, but so far the University community agree that Comrade Ede is on the right track to do the right thing, but it appears the people spreading this misleading and false information are pushing him to do the wrong thing which he would not succumb to", Nwaka affirmed