MOUAU’s Vice Chancellor dispels sack rumour
T
he new Vice- Chancellor (VC) of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU), Professor Francis Otunta, has dispelled the rumour making the rounds that the management of the institution had perfected plans to sack all staff of the university employed in 2016.
Otunta who dismissed the rumour in a forum at the university, assured workers in the institution that his administration would rather seek to protect and promote their interest.
There have been speculations, however, that the VC is under pressure to sack some of the staff recruited by his predecessor, Professor Hilary Edeoga towards the end of his tenure.
Assuring workers of their job security, Otunta said his administration was exploring various avenues to shore up its internally generated revenue to keep the university afloat in the face of the economic realities.
His words: “When they mentioned the issue of sacking those employed in 2016, I told them to first sack me because myself was also engaged in 2016. I am not interested in taking food off the table of any worker”.
The Professor of Mathematics said his major pre-occupation was to take the university to greater heights by sustaining and improving on the achievements of his predecessors, and not to inflict hardship on workers.
Otunta, who assumed office in February 2016, vowed to pursue the visions of the founding fathers of the university and place the institution on the global map.
He also said he would vigorously pursue the expansion of academic programmes to increase the students’ population of the institution which is currently put at 39,000.