UNN ASUU sacks Secretary over unauthorised negotiation with VC

Secretary of the University of Nigeria branch of

Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Dr.

Aaron Agbo, was Tuesday sacked by his

colleagues after being accused of unauthorised

negotiation with the university administration in

the ongoing demonstrations for the recall of the

pro-chancellor, Dr Emeka Enejere.

Agbo, who is in the Department of Psychology,

had held the post for only a year before the

sudden loss of it.

A panel headed by a senior academic, Professor

Damian Opata, Head of Department of English,

was also set up to determine further punishment

to be meted out to the former ASUU scribe.

Members of the four unions in the university

operating as Joint Action Committee, JAC,

Monday resumed the demonstrations they

suspended for Christmas and New Year break.

However, Dr Agbo issued a notice instructing

lecturers not to join the other four unions.

The chairman, Dr. Ifeanyi Abada, promptly

countered the instruction in a different notice

mobilising his colleagues.

Academic staff of all levels, therefore, joined the

other three unions and marched round Nsukka

campus on Monday but unknown to them, Dr

Abada had gone to a meeting reportedly called by

the Vice Chancellor, Professor Bartho Okolo, at

Enugu campus in an attempt to negotiate with

the staff.

The other unions, apart from ASUU, were National

Association of Academic Technicians, NAAT;

Non-Academic Staff Union, NASU, Enugu

Campus; and Non-Academic Staff Union, NASU,

Nsukka Campus.

Sources said workers at the Enugu Campus,

however, resisted the attempt to negotiate with

JAC in that meeting.

“Patrick Emeter, chairman of Non-Academic Staff

Union (NASU, Enugu Campus) rose and told the

VC that meetings of that nature were not

convened verbally through telephone calls.

Ms. Rebecca Nnamani, ASUU’s Assistant

Secretary, raised the objection that a meeting

summoned to address the issues raised by four

unions could not go on without proper

representation of ASUU. The branch chairman

was not invited and he was not in the meeting,”

the source said.

According to the source, the VC was compelled to

put off the meeting after appealing to workers to

stop further demonstrations and come to the

negotiating table.

The source also said the meeting was

rescheduled for yesterday so that all parties

would be properly represented.

Before the demonstration Tuesday, ASUU

convened emergency congress at Nsukka campus

and tabled the issue of Dr Agbo’s attempt to

represent the union in the meeting with the VC

without the branch chairman, Dr Abada.

Source: vanguard Newspaper