Demands reversal of obnoxious polices
Angry protesters have stormed the Abia State House of Assembly, demanding the reversal of obnoxious polices at the Government College Umuahia (GCU).
The House of Assembly had waded into the controversy at GCU following a petition by an alumnus of the school, Mr Chukwudi Onwudinanti, over the mismanagement of the school by its current managers.
Onwudinanti, in his petition being probed by the House Joint Committee on Education, Public Petition, and Judiciary, had raised concerns over the exorbitant school fees which are out of the reach of indigent people of Abia state, pulling down of monumental buildings without recourse to the Government College Umuahia Old Boys Association (GCUOBA), designation of the school as a Private among other policies which had deviated from the original idea of the school.
The protesters under the aegis of Common Man Assembly (COMA), Abia State chapter armed with placards with inscriptions such as: ‘’Bring down the high school fees of the Government College Umuahia’’, ‘’GCU should be made affordable for the rich and the poor’’, ‘’ Our Children can no longer attend GCU due to high school fees’’, ‘’ Governor Otti, please use your good offices and look into how GCU was handed over to the old boys and give solution to the various issues’’ appealed to the House of Assembly to resolve the issue in the interest of justice for the common people.
The President and secretary of COMA, Mr Nathaniel Nwoka and Banham Ezenwa, respectively, in a Save our Soul letter presented to the leadership of the Assembly, decried the situation whereby GCU is being classified as a private school, thereby effectively shutting its door against the poor with the ₦1m per session.
According to them, the revelations coming from the hearing of the petition by the House Committee on the running of GCU are troubling.
The protesters who acknowledged that some of the outrageous policies transpired before the assumption of office of Governor Alex Otti, pleaded with the government to intervene in the interest of justice.
The expressed confidence in the integrity of the House of Assembly and the Governor to help the common people correct the anomalies in the management of GCU.
The letter read in part: ‘’Please ensure that Government College is once more a public school.
‘’ Ensure that our children who are intelligent can go to Government College as it was in the past, by making the entrance exam open to everyone.
‘’ Slash the school fees to reflect what is going on in this country now, and in the state.
‘’ Ensure that the state government is part of the management of Government College Umuahia, so our interests would be protected.’’
The deputy speaker of the House, Austin Okezie Meregini, who addressed the protesters, assured them that the lawmakers were already investigating the matter in the interest of justice and protection of public interest.
”I want to reiterate that this matter is already being looked into by the Joint Committee on Education, Public Petition, and Judiciary. We have had two hearings on it, and from all indications, we are going to have a final hearing just to give all the parties adequate opportunity to air their views.
‘’ We assured you that public interest will be upheld at the end of the day. The content of the petition is quite clear, and we have also seen your expression in the different placards you came with. We will come up with a resolution that will be in the interest of the public.”
The Chairman Joint Committee, Education, Public Petitions and Justice, Uchenna Okoro, also assured the protesters that the House of Assembly will protect the public interest in its investigation.
The Chief Whip of the Assembly, Emeka Obioma, noted that the protest indicated that the people were in support of the investigation the House is conducting with its hearings.
He assured that the House of Assembly is people-oriented and will uphold public interest in its resolution.
