VC, others asked to step aside not related to court case – UEW clarifies

The Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) has maintained that the council will not relent on its quest to protect the public fund at the university.

Currently six officers of the university including Prof. Mawutor Avoke, Vice-Chancellor, are being investigated by the EOCO, BNI and the Governing Council over procurement breaches and financial malfeasance.

As a result of the investigations, the officers were last week detained by EOCO but it appears the process suffered a jolt when vital documents that can be relied on by investigators were stolen.

The other five being investigated are: Dr. Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie, Finance Officer; Mr. Frank Owusu Boateng, Deputy Finance Officer; Ms. Sena Dake, Internal Auditor; Ms. Mary Dzimey, Ag. Head of Procurement; and Ing. Daniel Tetteh, Ag. Deputy Director of Works & Physical Development.

Meanwhile, in a suit asking the court to declare the University’s Governing Council illegal because its tenure expired in November 2013, the Winneba High Court in July ordered the Vice-Chancellor and Finance Officer to hand over to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor until a case brought before it is determined.

But a statement issued by the university on Tuesday and signed by the new Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof. Emmanuel Nicholas Abakah, said the six were asked to step aside purely based on the ongoing investigations and it is “without prejudice to the outcome of the issues raised at the Courts”.

Urging the public to crosscheck their facts before making pronouncements on the decisions taken by the Governing Council, Prof. Abakah remarked: “Our mandate, inter alia, is to protect public funds and property and also to ensure judicious use of funds received from both the central government and internally generated funds.”