Crisis looms at Health Tech as Mgt threatens students’ expulsion

By Emmanuel Ntekim

Another protest may erupt between the students of the School of Health Technology, Etinan, and the Management of the school, led by the Provost, Pharm. Jimmy Uwah, over his alleged determination to expel four students, including members of the Students’ Union Government, purportedly as a cover-up strategy to protect the Dean of Students, Pharm. Ndifreke Nwoko, who is alleged to have embezzled the Students’ Union funds, an allegation Nwoko has denied.

The reason for the planned expulsion, WatchmanPost gathered, is said not to be unconnected with the belief by the school management that the SUG officials sponsored protest in the school against the Dean of Students, exposing him to public ridicule.

But the Provost of the School, Pharm. Jimmy Uwah, has, however, denied any plan to expel any student, describing the allegation as false, noting that his office was open to any information about victimization of students by any lecturer or member of the school management.

In a phone interaction with our reporter, the Provost asserted, “We have never stopped encouraging our students in their activities academically and otherwise and I have been having meetings with them to encourage them. We have set up a committee to ascertain the facts while still talking to them to go about their normal duties.

“We expect the committee to unveil the realities of the facts that can guide us. We encourage students not to have any fear. I have asked the Dean who said he has not committed such breach, but we still have to do some findings because as much as the information has gone out, the Ministry is interested in knowing what happened.”

The provost informed our reporter that the management enquired from the dean if he had tampered with the students’ money, and the dean told him that the past-president of the students had asked him to disburse money for students’ projects and the dean did exactly that with facts at his disposal.

“Because our concerns were, what concerns the dean with students’ money? The committee we set up was to find out the true nature of the situation”, the Provost explained.

Demonstration in the institution began when the students on Monday, May 27, 2024, protested on the campus calling for the removal of the Dean of Students, Pharm. NdifrekeCrisis looms at Health Tech as Mgt threatens students’ expulsionCrisis looms at Health Tech as Mgt threatens students’ expulsion

The management of the school constituted a committee headed by the Head of Department, Public Health Nursing, who doubles as the Vice Principal (Administration), Mrs. Rose Okon, to address the crisis.

WatchmanPost gathered that the committee has been influenced by the Provost and the Dean to cover up the alleged activities of the dean, and punish students and SUG Exco members particularly the incumbent president, Comrade Bessie James, who, according to one of the students, was persuaded to deny the story of the Dean’s alleged embezzlement in the media, and students protest on the campus.

This information corroborated social media messages from the president of Medical Laboratory students, Comrade Emmanuel Ukpong, circulated among the students of the department, that the school management had asked the incumbent president, Comrade Bessie James to call a press conference to deny the media report, an action the incumbent president was reluctant to take. The message by Comrade Emmanuel

Ukpong called on the students to boycott the just-concluded Student’s Union Week that ended Friday, June 14, 2024. It was also learnt that the Dean of Students Affairs had earlier collated students’ signatures to attach to a write-up about the students’ repudiation of the published information and the protest in the school.

WatchmanPost’s findings also showed that the Dean of Students Affairs has made a total withdrawal of one million, eight hundred and ninety-seven thousand naira only from the SUG College of Health Technology account number 1020033216 at the UBA through transfer to his personal account on behalf of the former SUG president, Comrade Otobong Anthony.

Speaking to this reporter, the former president of the SUG, Comrade Otobong, confirmed that he had signed cheques for the dean, but never knew what the moneys were meant for and that during his time as president of the students, he never received transaction alerts nor informed of the total amount of students’ money in the account by the dean.

He hinted that the union was indebted to the electoral committee headed by one Comrade Ernest, that saw to the emergence of Comrade Bessie James, and the indebtedness to the man that was contacted by his administration to provide the institution with the school signpost.

The former president also acknowledged that during his time as president, the dean was a principal signatory to the students’ account, but denied knowledge of how the dean was made the principal signatory.

WatchmanPost’s findings also showed that the said one million, eight hundred and ninety-seven thousand naira was transferred to the dean of students’ account in five tranches. On June 9, 2023 alone, the sums of four hundred thousand (N400,000), seven hundred and fifty-two thousand (N752,000), two hundred and thirteen thousand (N213,000), and three hundred and thirty-two thousand (N332,000) were transferred. Then on June 15, the dean also transferred two hundred thousand naira to his personal account, but he has denied all of those.

Our reporter gathered that the withdrawals of the said funds was brought to the notice of the incumbent president, Comrade Bessie James, by a past president of the union, Comrade Gabriel Akpan.

WatchmanPost had earlier reported that the friction between the dean and the students began when the incumbent students’ president, Comrade Bessie James, delisted the dean as the principal signatory to the students’ account in line with the provision of Article 7 of the Constitution, regarding financial matters, a move that was not pleasant to the dean.

The incumbent president, Comrade Bessie James, having been alerted by the two former presidents of the union, applied and collected a new cheque book from the bank for the SUG, disregarding the one in the custody of the Dean of Students, a move a source close to the dean, said enraged the dean.