Indigenes protest at Abia assembly over fees hike, mismanagement of college

Some indigenes of Ihie Ndume in Umuahia Area of Abia State have asked the state assembly to intervene in the alleged mismanagement and hike of school fees at Government College Umuahia (GCU).

The indigenes, under the aegis of the Common Man Assembly, Abia State Chapter, made the appeal when they held a peaceful protest at the Abia State House Assembly Complex on Tuesday.

Ihie Ndume is among the communities hosting the GCU which has become a subject of controversies in recent times.

How it began

On 17 February, an indigene of another community, Emede, within the same Umuahia Area, Chukwudi Onwudinanti, petitioned the assembly over alleged “disguised takeover and mismanagement” of the college.

Mr Onwudinanti, in the petition which was read at the assembly chamber on 25 February, claimed that the Government College Umuahia Old Boys Association (GCUOBA), which currently manages the college, was running the institution contrary to its original purpose.

He said the Abia State Government handed over the college to the GCUOBA in July 2014 after signing a Memorandum of Understanding.

The petitioner, an alumnus of the college, claimed that after a few years, the GCUOBA started running the school contrary to the purpose for which it was handed over to them by the state government.

Mr Onwudinanti alleged that the managers of the school have turned it into a “private enterprise” like a bourgeois school and cannot be accessible to average families of brilliant children within his constituency.

In March, the assembly launched an investigation into the allegations and invited the parties being invited as part of the ongoing investigations.

‘Save our soul’

On Tuesday, hundreds of the Ihie Ndume indigenes stormed the assembly complex to protest the alleged hike of the college’s school fees to N1.1 million.

They carried placards bearing different inscriptions, a video clip obtained by PREMIUM TIMES showed.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards were: “Bring down the high school fees of Government College Umuahia,” “GCU should be made affordable for the rich and poor,” “Our children can no longer attend GCU due to high school fees.”

Leader of the protesting indigenes, Nathaniel Nwoko, told the assembly members that they were on a “save our soul” protest to seek assistance of the lawmakers in reversing the ugly situation at the college.

Mr Nwoko, who is the president of Abia State chapter of the Common Man Assembly, said they noted with “concern” some revelations about the college coming on the heels of Mr Onwudinanti’s petition to the lawmakers.

The president was reading out from a letter which was addressed to the Speaker of the House, Emmanuel Emeruwa.

The letter was jointly signed by Mr Nwoko and the group’s Secretary, Banham Ezenwa.

“So we have come here today to loudly say to the Abia State House of Assembly, ‘please help us.’

“Therefore, we ask the assembly members, who represent us in this hallowed chambers, to help us, the common people, to correct these anomalies,” Mr Nwoko said, while reading from the letter.

The president appealed to the lawmakers to ensure that the college was restored as a public school and that qualified students are allowed to enrol into the institution.

He also asked that the hike of the fees be reversed to reflect the current economic situation in Nigeria.

“Ensure that the (Abia) State Government is part of the management of the GCU, so our interests would be protected,” he further appealed.

Abia assembly speaks

Addressing the protesters, the Deputy Speaker of the assembly, Austin Okezie said the lawmakers were already looking into the matter.

“I want to reiterate that this matter is already being looked into by the Joint Committee on Education, Public Petition and Judiciary.

“We have had two hearings on it and from all indications we are going to have the final hearing just to give all the parties adequate opportunity to air their views,” Mr Okezie, an alumnus of the college, said.

“We will come up with a resolution that will be in the interest of the general public,” the deputy speaker, who represents Umuahia East State Constituency, added.

On his part, the Chairperson of the Education Committee of the assembly, Uchenna Kalu, assured that they would restore sanity in the institution.

“We are appealing to everyone of you to calm down.

READ ALSO: Road Accident: Otti condoles with Abia State Joint Security Command

“The governor is very interested in this matter and we will make sure we give all parties fair hearing,” Mr Kalu said in a mixture of Igbo and English languages.

The Chief Whip of the assembly, Emeka Obioma, told the protesters that their demonstration showed that they were in support of the investigation the House had launched into the matter.

“The most important thing is that by the time we are done and issue our resolution, everyone of you will be happy with our position,” Mr Obioma assured in Igbo language.

The lawmaker represents Umuahia South State Constituency at the assembly.