UEW saga: Avoke’s ‘reinstatement’ pure figment of imagination – Registrar

Registrar of the University of Education of Winneba, Paul Osei Barimah has said that suggestions that dismissed Vice-Chancellor of the university has been reinstated following a Supreme Court order are merely a ‘figment of imagaination’ and nothing close to the facts on the ground.

In a statement, Mr. Osei Barimah described the claims as an ‘attempt to stampede the smooth administration of the University’, maintaining that his dismissal was instigated by the Governing Council after due process had been followed.

The statement further noted that ‘matters leading to his dismissal were not a subject matter of the ruling’.

This comes on the back of a Supreme Court unanimous decision to overturn the High Court’s initial ruling that led to the removal of Professor Mawutor Avoke as Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba.

The Supreme Court said the High Court in Winneba breached the rule of natural justice by failing to give the defendants a hearing in a case in which Professor Mawutor Avoke as Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba was involved.

It, therefore, overturned the decision by the High Court on grounds that there was the need to afford both parties [Defendants and Plaintiffs] an opportunity to present their case indicating that the earlier decision by the court amounted to an error of law patent on the record.

Background

The Winneba High Court in 2017 ordered Prof Avoke, to step aside until the case brought against him and the University’s Governing Council was determined.

The case brought before the court by one Supi Kofi Kwayera, who insisted that the Vice Chancellor and the Finance Officer, were operating under the institution’s defunct governing council.

The plaintiff argued that University’s Council’s mandate had expired in November 2013, but the Education Ministry failed to constitute a new Governing Council for the university and rather allowed the defunct Governing Council which had no mandate whatsoever to continue in the functions of a properly constituted Governing Council.

Supi Kofi Kwayera also alleged financial and procurement irregularities on the part of the Prof Avoke.

The court, in July 2017, then ordered Prof Avoke to step aside until a case brought against him and the University’s Governing Council was determined.

Also in July, Prof Avoke, along with four others; the Finance Officer, Dr. Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie; Daniel Tetteh, Mary Dzimey and Frank Owusu Boateng, were interdicted by the school after it emerged that some vital documents at some offices at the centre of an ongoing investigation had disappeared.

They were then found guilty of procurement and other financial irregularities in December 2017.

The irregularities had to do with the monies paid to the contractors of the North Campus Roads project.

In August 2018, the UEW governing council dismissed the five principal officers of the institution after a fact-finding committee had been set up to look into the matter.

Prof Avoke had maintained his innocence and had been challenging his indictment in court.

He took the case to the Labour Division of the Accra High Court but the case was beyond its jurisdiction.

This compelled his challenge in the Supreme Court.