It was another black day, today at Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron as Six staff of the Academy’s Personnel department were arrested by the police through the order of the Rector, Comdr Duja Effedua (Rtd)
The source has it that the Rector has ordered their arrest as the were working on some documents on nominal role to summit to the rector as demanded by the Federal Character Commission to ascertain the current staff strength of the academy.
The source said the rector got infuriated when he saw the approved minutes of the staff employment in 2015 which he had earlier told the National Assembly that the academy carried out illegal employment of 83 staff in 2016, whereas, the last recruitment excise in the academy took place in 2015 and not ,2016 as claim by Effedua.
The rector last friday during the House Committee on Maritime Education, Safety and Administration oversight visit to the academy said 83 staff of the institution were employed in 2016 without due process.
Due to the rector’s allegation, the House Committee Chairman, Hon. Mohammed Bago said the illegal staff should be sacked.
In swift defence of the legality of the employment, documents from the federal ministry of transport, federal character commission and salaries and wages commission was released backing up the approval of the employment of 46 and not 83 staff as alleged by the rector staff in 2015.
It was gathered that since the leak of those documents with the name of those employed, the rector felt embarrass and restless accusing the staff of the personnel department of leaking information and working for the suspended registrar, Mr Ante MKPANDIOK.
Today,at about few minutes after 4pm the rector was said to have march to the personnel department with three armed Naval Offers to pick the six senior staff of the department. The rector quickly called the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to arrest the six staff of the academy.
Our source said despite appeals from the Regimental Unit. Commander (RUC) to the rector after hearing from the affected staff to settle the matter in the academy instead of calling in the police fell on deaf ears as he ordered their arrest by the Police.
At the Police Station, the affected staff were accused of obstruction of Peace/fraud.
The police said the rector has ordered their detention without bail. After persuasions by family members of the affected staff which were two males, four females including the Director Human Resources not to detain their bread winners, the police started bargaining from N100,000, then to N50,000 and finally N20,000 as the last bail Price.
The six senior staff were later release from the Oron Divisional Police Headquarters at about 9:30pm after parting with N20,000 each.
With this act of intimidation and Executive rascality, a new dawn of infighting and bickering has started at the academy after just less than few weeks of the rector’s full resumption of duty after the six months stay of the Interim Management Committee round up of activities.
There is now high level tension at the academy as both fear of sack, intimidation and bickering
is again brewing at the academy.
