The Abia State Government has inaugurated the new management board of Fisher Educational Trust Foundation (FEDT) with a charge to make the Government College Umuahia (GCU) better.
FEDT is a body set up by the Government College Umuahia Old Boys Association (GCUOBA) to manage the college.
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The squabble
There have been disagreements between GCUOBA and FEDT after Chukwudi Onwudinanti, an indigene of Emede, one of the college’s host communities, petitioned the state assembly.
Mr Onwudinanti, in the first petition dated 17 February 2025, alleged that the then-FEDT of the school had turned it into a “private enterprise” like a bourgeois school and could not be accessible by average families of brilliant children within his constituency.
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In the heat of the debacle, the then-FEDT and the GCUOBA attempted to inaugurate parallel FEDT boards of the college following their tenure expiration.
The GCUOBA and Mr Onwudinanti separately petitioned the assembly, which resulted in a stay-action notice issued by the lawmakers. The notice barred the parties from proceeding with the inauguration until an investigation into allegations against the then-FEDT had been concluded.
In their petitions to the assembly, both GCUOBA and Mr Onwudinanti separately argued that the new board members, which the then-FEDT attempted to constitute, were not properly nominated in accordance with the agreements between GCUOBA and the then-FEDT members.
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Inauguration
The Secretary to Abia State Government (SSG), Kenneth Kalu, inaugurated the board on Thursday on behalf of the governor after the state government and lawmakers resolved their disagreements.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that, following the petitions by both GCUOBA and Mr Onwudinanti, the state government and the lawmakers forced the then-FEDT to nominate a new FEDT Board in line with the guiding agreements between them and the GCUOBA.
During the inauguration, Mr Kalu, a professor, told the new FEDT Board that the Abia State Government was taking the step in line with its broad general vision and action.
“The government of Dr. Alex Otti is taking initiatives, any form of initiative, in different corners, that will make our society better,” he said.
The SSG stressed that Mr Otti’s government was “intentionally driving actions that would create the kind of society Abia people wanted to live in”.
He thanked the GCUOBA and the new FEDT members for their efforts and commitment to making the institution greater.
In his speech, Chinedum Ahaiwe, the national president of the GCUOBA, said the institution produced many bright students in its glorious years.
Mr Ahaiwe mentioned Chinua Achebe, Elechi Amadi, Chukwuemeka Ike, Christopher Okigbo and others as literary giants who passed through the college.
The GCUOBA president regretted that the college, which earned the name “Eton of the East” following its students’ great performances, had dwindled in performance and glory.
He said the GCUOBA established the FEDT as a Special Purpose Vehicle to drive the college’s restoration.
Mr Ahaiwe said the foundation had resolved to take over the college’s management and restore its past glory.
He welcomed the inauguration of a new board as one that would be “accountable to GCUOBA, make course corrections, restore benefactors’ confidence and uphold the college’s founding ideals”.
The president also used the opportunity to thank Governor Otti for his efforts at rebuilding Abia and pledged the college management’s support to his government.
‘It’s a battle for over 10 years’
Mr Onwudinanti, also an alumnus of the college, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday evening that the new board members were nominated in line with the agreements guiding such nominations.
He said the then-FEDT “simply hijacked” the management of the college and began to operate it against the purpose of its establishment, increasing the school fees to over N1 million.
The alumnus said the squabble between the GCUOBA and the then-FEDT lasted for over 10 years.
“This fight has been on for more than 10 years. We had been battling with the then-FEDT internally.
“The GCUOBA didn’t want to take the matter outside to wash our dirty linen in public, but this year, I told them (GCUOBA) that this matter cannot be solved unless it is brought into public dialogue,” he said.
Mr Onwudinanti revealed the GCUOBA’s next line of action following the inauguration of the new FEDT Board.
“So now that these people (new FEDT Board) have gone in, we will now review the school fees, review other things and find out how we can make a public school act like a public school,” he said.
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