Delta College Provost, Governing Council Chairman, Education Commissioner At Logger Head Over Registrar’s Position

The rift of whose candidate will emerged as the college registrar is presently tearing apart  the Delta State College of Education, Mosogor, as both the Provost, Governing Council Chairman and Higher Education Commissioner for the state fights dirty.

There was pandemonium on Friday, October 3, after the Chairman, Governing Council of the institution, Chief Lovette Idisi’s office was sealed by the Provost of the College, Dr. Isreal Imide.

However, Chief Hon Idisi Lovette while addressing journalists at the school premises  Mosogar, accused the Hon. Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof Johnbull Tonukari for faulting the process of selecting the college registrar. He accused him of imposing his preferred candidate on them.

Chief Idisi stated that he was served with a court order as a result of an interview conducted few days back concerning the office of the registrar, adding that shortlisted members complied to due process and by the law of which quorum ought to be one third of shortlisted members.

He explained that trouble started when the Hon Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof Johnbull Tonikary, wrote him a letter faulting the whole process and accusing him (Idisi) of not constituting a quorum to conduct the interview.

“The Hon commissioner acted in error by writing that five members attended the interview, he was asked to withdraw the erroneous letter which he refused.”

Idisi also accused the Hon Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof Tonukari of sabotaging the process so that the interview will not go on by personally calling him (Idisi) out of the interview room, telling him of his preferred candidate and putting a call to the SSG of the state about his preferred candidate.

“Let me put it on record that on the said day of the interview the Hon Commissioner came personally and called me the Chairman out of the interview room, made a call to the SSG of the state that he has a preferred candidate and I said no, that due process in conducting this interview must be followed,”

Idisi noted that out of frustration, the Hon Commissioner left and called out the member representing higher institution to represent the meeting so that quorum will not be met, adding that out of nine members to conduct the interview, became eight members and one representing the Union boycotted the interview making it seven persons.

“So why should the Hon Commissioner come here and call people out of the meeting so that quorum will not be met? Then he had the effrontery to write me a letter. As God will have it, quorum was met, because out of nine members, seven members were present to conduct the interview.”

“Meanwhile he was physically seen here harvesting members of council, sabotaging the process so that the interview will not go on but as the law will have it, quorum was constituted the Substantive Registrar was appointed and immediately council meeting was held and that decision has been ratified,” Idisi said.

Chief Lovette Idisi explained that only the court of compitent jurisdiction can change the decision of members, insisting that anybody that does anything concerning the office of the registrar will take the law into his or her own hands.

“I have been served and the Hon Commissioner has been served, this matter should be on notice, the Governor cannot give me the authority to act and some group of persons will be fighting my efforts. Let me put it on record that this is the kind of thing that give his Excellency, the Governor a bad name,” he added.