Arising from a press briefing on Wednesday in Calabar, some staff and students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), have passed a vote of confidence on the Professor Zana Akpagu-led administration in the institution.This is just as the embattled UNICAL bursar, Mr. Peter Agi, vows to institutionalise financial discipline in the management of the schools treasury.On Monday, it was reported that some UNICAL administrative workers, students and suspected thugs clashed on campus, while staging simultaneous protests in support and against the Vice Chancellor (VC), Professor Zana Akpagu and the institutions bursar, Mr. Peter Agi, who were believed to be at loggerhead over the control of the schools finances.An anonymous source on campus told LEADERSHIP that trouble started when the VC, in an apparent reaction to complaints gotten from some of the workers, attempted to remove the bursar from office due to what they described as his highhanded on issues concerning staff welfare.According to the source, who is an administrative staff in the University, the bursar was fond of deducting the workers salaries, ignoring the VCs directives on the payment of workers allowances as well as paying select contractors, to the detriment of others.He alleged that for the past four months some category of workers in the University had not been paid 100% salaries, adding that every attempts by the VC to intervene proved abortive due to Agi highhandedness.The bursar was accused of among other things; insubordination, not paying staff allowances; thats the major cause of the problem and for the late payment and slicing of workers salaries.He has not being paying workers salary regularly.For over four months now, we have not been paid 100% salary. All of these are some of the reasons why the VC wants to remove him, even though he went and hired thugs alongside some students to resist his removal. He just blind folded the SUG EXCO and carried them along, he said.But, in the press statement signed and issued by one of the concerned staff, Mr. Anthony Ukpong, the group comprising some academic, non-academic staff and students of the institution, attributed Mondays protest to a disagreement between the University bursar, Mr. Peter Agi and a senior staff of the institution, over the formers non-payment of claims and entitlements.The statement said due to the Agis lukewarm attitude concerning the issue at hand, other workers decided to embark on a peaceful protest against him and possibly draw the attention of the Universitys management towards their plight.The statement which further said the bursars attitude had lately caused tension on campus, also accused him of inducing some students and miscreants to stage a counter protest, thereby threatening the peace on campus.While allaying the fear of parents over the safety of their wards on campus, the group unanimously passed a vote of confidence on the Professor Zana Akpagu led administration in the University.For the avoidance of doubt, the crisis was precipitated by a disagreement between a senior staff of the University and the bursar, over non-payment of claims and entitlements.The bursars intransigence caught the attention of other staff of the University, who carried out a peaceful protest against the bursar. It was a spontaneous boil over against the bursar over alleged high handedness, fraud, selective payment of contractors, discriminatory imprest payments, refusal to pay staff honoraria and a host of other grievances.In the wake of this fiasco, the bursar went ahead to induce the SUG President and some miscreants non-students, who attempted to stage a counter protest, but were summarily rounded up by University staff and security personnel.The staff and students of the University, hereby pass a vote of confidence on the Vice Chancellor and are dismayed by the activities of the bursar, who has arrogated to himself powers of superiority over the VC, who is the Chief Executive, by arbitrarily slashing the VCs approvals and in most cases, out-rightly refusing to execute the VCs approvals, the statement read in part.Meanwhile, in his reaction, the bursar, Mr. Peter Agi, denied all the allegations leveled against him, saying no amount of blackmail will stop him from doing the right thing.According to Agi, in a telephone interview, he was on a mission to sanitize the finance and administration processes in the institution, no matter whose ox was gored. He challenged all those leveling one allegation or the other against him to substantiate their claims, disclosing that he had not been selective in the disbursement of funds in the school.I am out to effect change on the financial management system in the University. The time has come for us to operate by the rules and regulation.There is no evidence to show that I selectively pay contractors. All I can say is that there are many approvals chasing few funds, he said.In another twist, a lecturer in the University, who craved anonymity, has traced the current crises rocking the University to the Vice-Chancellors greed.According to him, upon assumption of office as the institutions 10th Vice chancellor, there was an understanding between Akpagu and the bursar to employ 40 persons from the VCs locality, but after a while, the VC reneged on the pact and brought on board close to 200 persons. Apparently dissatisfied with this development, owing to the schools dwindling finances, the lecturer said the bursar refused to payroll the excess employees who were suddenly brought into the workforce.He said The bursar is a very rude person, no doubt. The VC will give him instruction, but he will not carry it. Immediately the VC came on board he started employing people from his place, but the bursar was not comfortable with that. As a result, they had a meeting shortly after the VC came and they agreed to employ only 40 people from his place, but the VC still went ahead toemploy almost 200 people and the bursar refused to payroll them because the school does not have enough money to pay them.Because of this, the VC, through the ASUU, in her recent meeting passed a vote of no confidence on the bursar for failing to take instructions from the VC. A particular lecturer moved a vote of no confidence in meeting, which later ended up in fiasco.Ironically, some of this same ASUU members kicked against the vote of no confidence passed on the bursar, saying due process was not followed in the meeting demanded his sack.When contacted on phone, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Zana Akpagu, expressed surprise over the development, saying he was on his way out of the country.He, however, promised to make the management official position on the matter known shortly.
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