Prof. Avoke insists UEW should reinstate him as VC

Dismissed former Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba Prof. Mawutor Avoke is asking the university to reinstate him immediately. His demand is premised on the report of the Economic and Organize Crime Office (EOCO) after its investigation into activities leading to his dismissal exonerated him. Read: UEW brouhaha:EOCO investigation exonerates Prof Avoke Prof. Avoke was suspended in July 2017 and later  dismissed in August 2018 few months to the end of his tenure as the Vice Chancellor of the public university over procurement issues. He was dismissed together with five others including Finance Officer, Dr. Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie; Daniel Tetteh, Mary Dzimey and Frank Owusu Boateng. At a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, the former VC said he will go to court next month if the university fails to reinstate him. Publicly speaking on the development at the university for the first time, Prof. Avoke stated: “Anyone who is a critical observer of the issues over the time will clearly know that some levels of involvement have played critical roles at various stages of this saga…no allegation has been proven against any of us and therefore the moral thing for stakeholders to do is to invite me back to the university. “I do not see why after the Supreme Court had quashed the judgment of the Winneba High Court I shouldn’t go back because some fact-finding reports which have the same terms of reference as the EOCO report say some offenses have been committed. One of the basic objectives of the fact-finding report was to help the lawyers file the case to Court. “At what time did it evolve to become a fault finding report? These are the fundamental questions that you ask. Clearly, this must point to the fact that there are people who are manipulating the system to prevent us from coming back.” The former VC likened the impasse which led to the closure of the university to an act of terrorism. “The injustice in dismissing staff who have served the university over the past several years, on trumped up charges, evidenced in the so-called Fact Finding Report is probably the greatest injustice in the history of higher education anywhere in the civilized world,” Prof. Avoke said “Staff should be allowed to resume work in all fairness, since justice will not be served if I, and those dismissed are not brought back.” He also accused the current Vice Chancellor Prof. Rev. Afful Broni and Chairman of the UEW Governing Council of “playing critical role” in the “wrongful” dismissal of him and other colleagues. “It is now clear who in the cloak or dead of the night was meeting the Member of Parliament of the Efutu Constituency and sharing fabricated materials and official documents of the university, and misrepresenting same to him, as recently claimed by the MP himself on various media platforms.” Source: editors.3news.com | Ghana