Group accuses New College of Education, Warri Provost of nepotism and reign of terror






REIGN OF TERROR AT COLLEGE OF EDUCATION WARRI

In June 2016, Prof.Mrs. Mary Olire Edema, an Edo woman married to an Itsekiri man took over the mantle of Provostship of College of Education Warri. Since assumption of office, the story of peaceful coexistence among the staff vanished. She began to implement policies aimed at dismantling existing structures thus bringing the growth of the College to a painful halt.

For example:

1. She redeployed all staff from their previous offices to new ones. In the process surrounded herself with her ethnic group only. Those close to her claimed that she believed that her predecessor planted people in offices to fight her. Redeployment was her step to dislodge them.
2. She refused to step into the old Provost office complex, claiming that charms were planted in to to harm her..
3. She drove the Director and staff of the DELSU programme from their offices which they built from DELSU fund for the running of the programme.
4. She demoted the Chief Security Officer CSO and appointed a junior officer to head the security department of the College.
5. To generate more fund for her activities, she posted loyalist to all departments to collect revenue that she had earlier proscribed and remit same to her office. By this measure she grounded and blocked all sources of fund which the departments had used to maintain and the departments.

1. Although, she asked the departments to apply for fund should the need arise and promised to release the fund promptly. Unfortunately, as many that applied for this money were told in capital letters “NOT APPROVED”. Almost all the machines and operational facilities for running the offices in the College are now out of service.
2. Until now, officers that are to travel officially are provided with a car, driver and fuel for officers that do not generate revenue and travelling allowances for drivers. The reply to such request is capital “NOT APPROVED”. Officers are required to travel at their own expense when for over three months now some officers have not been paid salaries.
3. The official slogan in the College is “NO MONEY”. But the new Provost that is saying no money has within two months:

• Bought 2 new prado jeep – one for herself and one for Governing Council Chairman.
• The over ten cars in the College are given to P.As, security outfit and the others parked in front of her office, not allowing any officer to use them.

9. In 2012, 99 staff (academic and non-academic) were employed. These staff received salary until January 2013, when the Uduaghan government stopped their salaries. These staff worked without pay till October 2014, when they were told to stop. However, in April 2015, these 99 were recalled with a new appointment letter. Till date over one year now, these 99 have not been paid. Out of human sympathy, the former Acting Provost decided with Management of the College to pay a token to cushion the pains of working without pay, pending when the State government would be ready to pay. And that at worst should the government pay the areas in full the College could recover her money which was in form loan to the 99.
10. In addition, for a very long time now the state government had stopped employing staff. Thus, to keep the College running because of shortage of staff, the Management of the College engaged the services of about 220 contract academic and non-academic staff paid stipends ranging from N10,000.00 to N18000.00 from IGR.
11. Unfortunately, even these meagre stipend has not been paid for

about four months now.

12. It is in this bitter and painful predicament of the 99 and the other 220 contract staff that Prof. Mary Edema issued a letter terminating their appointments.
13. In the place of those terminated, the Professor have begun to appoint fresh officers on salary of N30, 000 each.
14. In anticipation of protest, she has militarized the College with well-armed mobile police men riding in Hilux vehicles patrolling the College ostensibly to brutally suppress any dissent. Within two months, the College is in a coma and presumably sitting on a keg of gun powder.
15. Under the pretense of monitoring and managing the resources of the College, she appropriated all the money of the College to herself. She now handles all expenditure of the College. She buy snacks for refreshment in meetings, run adverts personally, buy and pay for petrol personally, even to buy groundnut, she does the payment.
16. The fear is that should the College close down she will mop up the small money in the College and go to her University of Benin; or should the College thrive by accident she alone holds and spend the money. In any situation she is a winner. Unfortunately, the College is a looser in any situation. It would appear the Governor Dr. Okowa has a grudge against the College, hence the presence of the Professor to punish the College. The College is praying like the Israelites for a Messiah.

Signed: Ivie Omeshe

for Concerned Staff of College of Education, Warri