Sam George fingers Jubilee House in UEW impasse

Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram Constituency Sam Nartey George has accused the presidency of being behind “the sort of impudence” that has led to the closure of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW).

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP says what is being seen currently as efforts to bring the issues to normalcy is “just face-saving” and they run deeper than what has been witnessed.

Sam George was speaking on TV3’s New Day on Monday.

He was discussing the issue that has brought academic life at UEW to a halt.

A violent demonstration by students on Thursday, March 14 – calling for the reinstatement of some sacked senior lecturers – led to the shutdown of the university.

Though the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, brokered some sort of peace between some dissidents in the imbroglio, the tertiary institution is yet to reopen.

Speaking on New Day, Sam George advised politicians to consider staying off some national issues in order to save some noble institutions.

“We can’t keep tainting everything in the country,” he admonished.

For him, the issues at UEW have reached a head as a result of the seeming endorsement the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, gave to the Vice Chancellor, Reverend Professor Anthony Afful-Broni, by attending his investiture last year, following the removal of Prof Mawutor Avoke.

“It is as clear as daylight that there is the hand of government in this University of Education, Winneba matter.”

Political glaucoma

A Deputy Minister of Information, Pius Enam Hadzide, who was also a panelist on the programme, found fault with the MP’s allegation, calling it “disappointing”.

The former Deputy Youth and Sports Minister said his co-panelist has no shred of evidence to back his accusations that the presidency is behind the issues at UEW.

“[He] knows that the president does not have such powers such as the investiture of a Vice Chancellor,” Mr Hadzide stressed, adding that Rev Prof Afful-Broni would still have been inducted into office even without the president’s attendance.

But Sam George said politicians are sometimes blinded by “some glaucoma” when they assume office.

He said the government cannot absolve itself of giving the Afful-Broni-led management “a stamp of legitimacy from the Flagstaff House”.

He said the embattled VC is exerting powers beyond what he is legitimately entitled to.

The NDC firebrand said the VC is doing “worse” of whatever he accused Prof Avoke of doing.