Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
The mother of all student -groups in the country – National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) - has denied claims by Deputy Minister of Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, that they had agreed to share the cost of utility bills at public tertiary institutions with government.
Ablakwa is reported to have first made the claim at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on April 15, 2015 whilst addressing students during the second edition of the ministry’s ‘Campus Connect’ series and has since been repeating same on several media platforms.
A statement issued and jointly signed by the General Secretary of NUGS, Iddi Muhayu-deen and his colleague Press and Information Secretary, Rhodalyn Eshun yesterday said “The claims by Okudzeto Ablakwa are factually incorrect, spurious, and as such should be disregarded by all.”
Instead, they noted with emphasis that “NUGS has not consented to any communiqué that involves levying the cost of utility bills on students.
“In fact, we are yet to see the final resolution or communiqué of the stakeholder meeting held on 25th March at the UPSA auditorium. We therefore find it disingenuous that Ablakwa continuously makes reference to this communiqué that nobody but himself had seen,” wondering why it had not been issued to the media as agreed upon.
They have therefore demanded that the communiqué be made public since it is no secret document.
According to them, the claim by the deputy minister had created a lot of fear and panic among students across the country; many of who had vowed to take on the NUGS executive for such a gaffe.
They have therefore dared Ablakwa to make public the said communiqué he claims forms the basis for government’s decision to partially withdraw utility subsidies and be borne by students.
According to them, “If Hon. Ablakwa fails to produce that communiqué, which he claims received the endorsement of NUGS (or its rep), then he should not only desist from making such claims, but should also retract and render an unqualified apology to the leadership of NUGS for this unwarranted disservice.”
They have also promised to, as it were, advise themselves if he fails to do either.
The students’ leadership said “If government intends to withdraw utility subsidies to public institutions, then it should gather the necessary courage to make that point loud and clear rather than this cowardly approach of trying to ‘implicate’ student leaders in this enterprise as a cover-up for government’s unpopular move.
“It is very much obvious that government is afraid of the consequences and political ramifications of such move hence, the decision to play a smart one on all of us,” the statement noted.
Leadership of NUGS has since served notice to “vehemently resist any attempt by government to surcharge students for utility bills,” saying “that will not and cannot happen else the students of this country will shake the very foundation of our government with an unwavering aluta.”
Via: -Daily Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment