By Amos Aar
THE BENUE State Government has directed that elections in all students and Alumni’s associations in the state be put on hold until further notice from the government.
Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Youth Mobilisation and Empowerment, Hon. Mkeenem Moses, conveyed the state government’s decision to journalists in a statement on Thursday in Makurdi, the state capital.
According to Mkeenem, the decision bounds on all universities, colleges of education, monotechnics and polytechnics within the state.
Although the governor’s aide did not give any reason for the directive, National Record gathered from reliable sources that the prolonged crisis rocking the Benue State University Alumni Association (BSUAA) informed the decision.
ALSO READ: Environmental Pollution: How Dangote Subsidiaries, Pure Biotech Endanger Lives In Benue Communities
One of the presidential aspirants for the association’s conference confided in National Record on Thursday that one of the factions of BSUAA, led by Comrade Lawrence Vihimga, had scheduled an election to be held on Thursday, December 28, 2023 despite an interim injunction by a Makurdi High Court that stopped all the factions from holding congresses and conventions owing to the crisis.
In his address, the pioneer president of BSUAA and a lecturer of BSU, Dr Bem Ugoh, said if the elections were conducted, it would have been an indictment on the Board of Trustees (BOT) for being unlawful, assuring that the BOT would democratise BSUAA and harmonise the factions. Ugoh disclosed that BSUAA has “returned to status quo” (BOT has taken charge) and the BOT would soon design a timetable to implement the completion of the transition program as was validly confirmed by the BOT earlier.
