Juliana Francis
The Executive members of the University of Nigeria Alumni Association (UNAA) have called on members of the association to disregard a meeting which was slated to hold in Abuja from Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th of September 2022.
The meeting is supposed to be for the association’s National Executive Council (NEC). But the National Secretary of the association, Mr Tony Chukwu, in a statement, stated that there must have been a mix-up because there was no call for such a meeting with such an important arm of the association.
He added that it was possible that such a meeting might have been proposed by a group parading itself as UNAA.
He said: “It is rather one further antics by a dissident few who for their selfish purposes and with the connivance of the University authorities by means of the divide and rule tactics have set out to destroy the University of Nigeria Alumni movement. The issue of illegal imposition of leadership on the Association by the University authorities is a subject matter of a pending suit before the Federal High Court Enugu in suit no: FHC/EN/CS/62/2022 between the University of Nigeria Alumni Association & Ors vs the University of Nigeria & Ors. The proposed NEC meeting is an act of contempt of court even as the suit is pending when the University authorities flouted the directive of the court and proceeded to conduct the illegal election-subject matter of the suit. The public is hereby advised to steer clear of the purported NEC meeting in order not to be embroiled with issues of contempt of court. The purpose of the NEC meeting is only to defraud our eminent alumni members, who may out of patriotism and lack of information donate huge sums of money which will end up in the private pockets of the organisers. The invitees and awardees should please take note.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Barrister Louise Alozie, a member and leader of the association, said: “We are standing on the truth and UNAA is not a government establishment. It is not open to the university management to appoint leaders for us. We don’t look for recognition from the authorities and they should not impose leadership on us. We have a constitution and we are incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission. The law establishing the University of Nigeria does not grant them any power, authority to conduct any election for us or to determine who will lead us.”
Alozie further said: “There is nothing connecting us to the school, except that we brainstorm together on how to give back to society. The person, who the university made president of the association is a product of Alva Ikoku Federal College of Education. This person did not study at the University of Nigeria. This person did not attend the university and did not understand the school’s state of dilapidation and so could have not seen the former glory of the school. The school cannot tell us who should lead the association, we’re not children. There are people in our midst who are former vice-chancellors, and lawyers and what they are currently doing is robbing the University of our contributions. Our bid is to help by giving back to the university, but what they are doing, shows they do not want it. Corruption is at the root of what we are fighting, I don’t believe in injustice. I cannot deviate from the truth no matter the pressure.”
He argued that the bone of contention as far as he was concerned, was for things to be done correctly. He stressed that the motor of the school, “is to restore the dignity of man,” thus anywhere an alumnus sees injustice to man, the person will stand and fight for justice.
“We are not contesting an election, we’re only fighting for what is right. We are fighting interference from the university administration, which does not want people that will give account. Accountability is important. At federal and state levels, we talk of accountability and criticized the government, then you come to an association, where members are graduates, you still don’t have accountability, which is associated with the immediate past leadership. Now, we thought we could change it, but they said no,” said Alozie.
He said that top personalities in Nigeria, who are alumni of the university had intervened in the matter, but to no avail.
