MOUAU VC protests marginalisation, fund starvation

The Vice Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of
Agriculture Umudike , Abia State, Professor Hilary
Edeoga, has vigorously protested the non release of the
university’s take-off grant 22 years after its establishment,
and the partial release of its annual capital allocations.
Edeoga who registered his protest when the House of
Representatives Committee on Education visited the
institution as part of its oversight function, alleged that the
unfair treatment being meted out to the university by the
federal government amounted to marginalisation of its host
geopolitical zone- the South East.
His words: “Our Capital budget is not fully released.
This is my fourth year as VC. In the first year, the
budget was N300 million, I didn’t get up to N100 million;
the second year, the same thing . This year, it came
down to N222 million, I don’t know whether we have
received up to N6 million, and we have barely one month
to go.
“It is mind bugling that out of the three federal universities
of Agriculture established by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s
regime some 22 years ago, we are the only one yet to
receive take off grant, Markurdi got, Abeokuta got,
Umudike didn’t get till date.
” As if that is not enough, recently our sister university at
Markurdi has been granted approval to start running
programmes in Medical Sciences. We wrote for our
own but it is yet to be considered. Are you saying that we
have not been forgiven for loosing the Biafran civil war?
I thought we are saying no victor no vanquished?
” Don’t continue to make us feel we don’t belong to
Nigeria. Look at the roads in this part of the country,
very deplorable.
” We grow fish , rear pigs and run poultry to know
whether we can make money to boost our internally
generated revenue to be able to meet our financial
requirements because no federal university charges school
fees. What they are charging are for examination,
medical, library and hostel. We are not making profits at
all.”
The VC noted that, but for funds from Tertiary
Education Fund , NEEDS funds and the institution’s
IGR, infrastructural development in the university would
have since stopped.
He, therefore, pleaded for the intervention of the
lawmakers by facilitating the full release of their budgetary
allocations.
Responding, the Chairman of the House Committee on
Education, Hon. Aminu Suleman, assured the VC that
the House would prevail on the National University
Commission to grant approval for the running of medical
sciences if the basic requirements had been met, adding that
the issue of take-off grant should also be considered done.
He had earlier on his opening remarks said their visit was
to monitor the implementation of budgets in the institution
to ascertain whether or not there was compliance with the
law.
“It is only proper that we visit institutions to see how
what has been provided is being utilised for us to see the
justification in appropriating more so that we continue to
perfect the system in the overall public interest.”
He attributed the decay and constant strike actions in public
tertiary institutions to none implementation of budgets as
most of the causes for the agitations had all been provided
in the budget.
” It beats the imagination why we are still having strikes,
lecturers still complaining , and why we are still living
under deplorable conditions in our institutions when
provisions have been made in the budget.”
He posited that ” provisions made in the budget and duly
signed by the President are being operated at the
pleasures of Ministers and for us , we view it as criminal
because once appropriation act is being passed and duly
assented to by the President, nobody no matter how highly
placed has any power to tamper with it.”
Suleman described as worisome ” a situation where
policies, decisions and projects that were agreed upon
between the National Assembly, Government and the
receiving institution, are being systematically jeopardised.”