NUGS Criticised Severely For Poor Congress

The organisation of this year’s National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) Congress has come under harsh criticism.

This follows the suspension of the Congress due to chaos that resulted in police and military intervention as well as that of macho men. All participants of the Congress interviewed by focus news even before the melee that led to the suspension of the Congress complained about issues such as accommodation, food, poor timing of all activities.

A candlelight procession in memory of the late president could not also materialise.

Cosmas Nana Opoku-Ware, SRC president for the University of Mines, Tarkwa, told focus news “feeding was a problem. Breakfast came at lunch time and lunch came at supper time.” Kwasi Addai Mununkum Otchere, former SRC president of the Cape Coast University corroborated the complaints saying that supper comes around 2am. Both leaders agree that there were aspects of the Congress that were not legal according to the union’s own constitution.

Cosmas says the national executives were doing everything on their own instead of stipulated committees. He doubts if member institutions will patronize another Congress or election.

“For the first time we had a congress without a steering committee. Central Committee started proceedings and never ended proceedings. Meaning Congress cannot be constituted. Decision to vote was unconstitutional. Congress is unconstitutional because the central committee was not dissolved”, the former UCC President added.

He urges the leaders to eschew selfish tendencies since Ghanaian students and posterity will not forgive them for all the bad precedence they are setting. Meanwhile, executives of NUGS have been suspended whiles the SRC Presidents and local NUGS of the various member institutions have taken over. They are yet to provide information about the way forward.

-Bernard Buachi, Focus FM, KNUST,Kumasi.