Some officials of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), who were dismissed recently have indicated that the reasons for their removal are unfounded and baseless.
According to them, they will use lawful means to seek justice.
The five officials including the then Vice-Chancellor Professor Mawutor Avoke and the Finance Officer, Dr. Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie, were sacked for withholding some information the University Council deemed crucial in an on-going investigation over a contract awarded by the university.
[contextly_sidebar id=”PGsDwOwNKbZ3FDTGcotvAbWv0CBbOmng”] In a press release, the embattled officials said they are saddened about the public perception of their silence on the matter, hence their decision to clarify the situation at hand.
“We noticed that there is a lot of information in the social, print and electronic media on the subject. Some people have also misconstrued our silence on the subject as an admission of guilt. We have therefore decided to provide these clarifications to the public.”
Speaking to Citi News, Dr. Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie, the dismissed Finance Officer said the dismissal was politically motivated because they had no hand in the contract.
“…Because proper procedures were not followed, the matter is in court. The contract that they are talking about – The North campus road contract was not awarded by Prof. Avorke. That contract was even awarded when the current council Chairman was the Pro-Vice chancellor. The first phase of that project was done and he signed all the payment vouchers. The second phase was done in 2015 when the current acting Vice Chancellor was the Pro-Vice chancellor and the records are there.”
He said they await the outcome of the matter by the Supreme Court before they take any action.
Dr. Ackorlie further questioned the locus with which the committee set up to look into the matter dismissed them, claiming that the committee is full of individuals who actually awarded the contract.
“So why should people who participated actively in a project that is in contention now constitute themselves into a committee to investigate people who were not part of it? Why won’t we get a neutral body? The court should be determining that.”
“And I believe that when a matter is in court we should all wait for the court to decide. If the court says no, you are wrong, then that committee could go ahead to do its work and can go ahead to dismiss us,” he noted.
Here is the full statement by the dismissed officials
UEW: Principal accuses acting VC of witch-hunting
The Principal of the College of Languages Education at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Professor Ephraim Avea Nsoh, has accused the institution’s acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Father Anthony Afful-Broni of witch-hunting.
“I want to state categorically that the acting Vice-Chancellor is just targeting people and there are clear indications. The Council has to be very cautious and not to allow him to mislead them as he is doing now,” he stated.
The University has asked Professor Nsoh to step aside while investigations are carried out into his conduct at the school.
It is unclear why he is being investigated, but it is believed to be a result of disagreement over the recent dismissal of some senior officers.
“I am the only person who is ready to talk now and is able to caution people in the system. There is no one who is going to defend me again. For me, I am just waiting for the next step and hand over.”
“I am clean, and anyone who has known me knows that I am forthright, I am straight, and I don’t like illegal dealings. Nothing will happen. I will continue to make it clear to everybody what it is. I want to go further, so people know what is going on the grounds. I need to calm the tensions of my colleagues,” he added.
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By: Nii Larte Lartey/citinewsroom.com/Ghana