A fresh industrial crisis is brewing at the Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, as the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI) has strongly condemned the Academic Staff Union of Colleges of Agriculture (ASUCA) over its planned industrial action and agitation for the removal of the institution’s Provost.
ASURI, in a statement issued by its Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu (FCAI) chapter, accused ASUCA of disrupting academic activities and attempting to undermine the rights of staff who are not members of its union.
The statement, jointly signed by the chapter Chairman, Iwundu Kenneth Chigozie, and Secretary, Obulafor Obilor, was titled “Planned Shutdown of Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu.”
The union alleged that ASUCA’s persistent protests against the appointment of the substantive Provost, Professor Agwu Ekwe Agwu, had negatively affected the academic calendar of the institution.
According to ASURI, the ongoing agitation has stalled key academic activities, including the matriculation of new students, despite the academic session having commenced months ago.
“The craving for an internal leader, which has eluded the overriding interests of the said union, has disrupted academic activities to the extent that a new academic session that began earlier in the year has not had its matriculation, while sister institutions are already concluding their first semester examinations,” the statement read.
The union further lamented that students had become the worst hit in the lingering dispute, describing the situation as a “flagrant suppression” of their academic progress.
ASURI also accused ASUCA of attempting to dominate other unions within the institution, insisting that such actions were contrary to the principles of fairness and the rule of law.
“If the rule of law must prevail, then no individual or union has the inalienable right to lord over others. ASURI’s existence in this institution cannot be taken for granted,” the statement added.
Reaffirming its support for the current leadership, ASURI maintained that Professor Agwu remains the legitimate Provost and should be allowed to carry out his duties without interference.
“Prof. Agwu Ekwe Agwu is our Provost and has come to stay and serve,” the union declared, warning that it would not succumb to what it described as “cacophonies and tantrums” from ASUCA.
The union also emphasized that while ASUCA reserves the right to embark on industrial action, such action should be limited strictly to its members and not disrupt the activities of others.
Meanwhile, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Dr. Chris Nweke, confirmed awareness of plans by ASUCA to embark on a nationwide strike involving colleges of agriculture across the country.
He noted that while staff welfare demands were legitimate, the inclusion of a call for the removal of the Provost was misplaced.
“One of the issues raised was the attempt to remove the Provost, but we made it clear that it is not part of the core demands. As far as we are concerned, we have only one recognised Provost, Professor Agwu Ekwe Agwu,” Nweke said.
He added that the management had engaged stakeholders to better understand the grievances behind the proposed strike but stressed the need to separate welfare issues from administrative matters.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of ASUCA leadership were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
