The Senator representing Imo West in the National Assembly, Chief Rochas Okorocha who claims ownership of Easternpalm University has ordered the management of the University to reopen on Monday, December 7 for matriculation of new students.Okororocha In a manner that smacks of total negligence to constituted authority threatened to sack anyone who fails to carry out his instruction.
The University is said to have been built with Public fund when ex-governor Rochas Okorocha was in office.Though Okorocha claims that the school was built on the basis of Public Private partnership(PPP) but available facts are in contrary.The ex-governor is yet to make public the so called investors and how they earned the equity share of 90% while Imo state got a paltry 10% as claimed by him.
Recall that the Imo state government through it’s Ministry of Education had yesterday, December 4, 2020 shut-down Easternpalm University. As revealed by our source who pleaded anonymity, the directive was sequel to decision of government to put the school into good use.
Our source stated that the development did not go down well with Rochas Okorocha who stormed his village in Ogboko, Ideato South and convened an emergency meeting of management staff of the Institution where he ordered them to reopen on Monday.He assured that President Muhammadu Buhari has called Uzodinma to order.
He directed that the new students be communicated, accordingly. The senator boasted to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Tola Badejo and other top management staff that he was battle-ready for Senator Hope Uzodinma.
The source also revealed that there is pressure on the management who allegedly took advantage of the ASUU strike to milk the unsuspecting students who paid fees ranging from #500,000 to #1Million naira.Parents of the students are agitated.They want a refund, following the damning revelation that the school is solely owned by the Imo State Government.
Easternpalm University had commenced as permanent site of Imo State University but was later re-named to Imo European University with Prof Chima Iwuchukwu as pioneer Vice Chancellor.At this time, virtually all the buildings or blocks had been erected before Okorocha began to nurse the idea of further changing it to Easternpalm University.
At the time of filing this report,it was not clear if the Vice-Chancellor had carried out Okorocha’s directive.
However, our reporter who visited the school in the Afternoon of today, December 4,2020, observed that it was under lock and key, indicating that no one had gained entrance into the school premises.
