By Dennis Peprah
Sunyani, (Bono), July 18, GNA-The various unions of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) have defended the university’s Vice Chancellor (VC), Professor Elvis Asare-Bediako, describing some allegations leveled against him as unfortunate, baseless and palpable falsehood.
The unions are the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) and the Senior Staff Association of UENR.
According to the unions, the UENR had witnessed unprecedented growth in student enrolment and physical infrastructure development, since the VC assumed office, thereby positioning the university to achieve its vision of becoming a world class institution.
“Since Prof Asare-Bediako assumes the leadership duty as the VC about five years ago, the UENR’s student enrolment has increased from 4,000 to more than 16,000 students”, Mr Charles Kojo Aidoo, the General Secretary of the UENR branch of GAUA stated.
Addressing an emergency news conference held at the university main campus in Sunyani, Mr Aidoo described the VC’s open-door administration, innovations and human relations as exceptional.
The unions used the joint news conference as an opportunity to react to media publications, describing them as “total falsehood without basis”.
They also called on the newspaper to retract, and give the retraction the required prominence it deserved to safeguard the image of the VC and the university in general.
Mr Aidoo said: “It’s unfortunate and sad that some individuals at the university disregard and don’t want to comply with the Acts, statues and regulations of the UENR. There is nothing true in the content of the publication”.
Dr Francis Douglas Appiah, the Secretary of the UENR chapter UTAG, said: “looking at the content of the story, it’s clear that it emanated from some disgruntled individuals. It’s just calculated attempts to dirty the image of the VC, and run the university down accordingly”.
He emphasized that: “There is nothing untoward going on in the University and nothing should warrant his sack”, and urged the general public to disregard the story.
Dr Appiah also called on the National Media Commission (NMC) and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to “bring the newspaper to book”, and asked individual journalists and media institutions to endeavour to cross check their facts before going to press.
Mr Clifford Asomah Kyere, the Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of UENR said the association also disassociated itself from the content of the publication, saying “the publication is only the views of some individuals and not the association”.
GNA
Edited by Christian Akorlie