EBSU Owes Two Months Salaries, Not Three, Says VC Ogbu
… Speaks about his resignation

Management of Ebonyi state university debunked the allegation that the school owes 3-month, saying the school rather owes  her staff only for two months.

The Former Deputy Governor and the Vice Chancellor of the Ebonyi state university Professor Chigozie Ogbu stated this in a press conference with journalist in Abakaliki the Ebonyi state capital.

Ogbu regretted that the school still owed her staff June and July salaries consequent on the adverse effects of COVID-19, adding that the major source of income to Ebonyi state university are the students school fees “and at the time of closing last season students were still registering”, he lamented.

“The Proprietor of the Ebonyi state University, Governor David Umahi has been advocating that all institutions in the state must make sacrifices in terms of reducing their wage bills, instructed Chairman of the council who headed a committee set up by the council that they must go back and look at itself critically and sacrifice to reduce salaries.”

Professor Ogbu who used the medium to refute the rumour of his resignation, stating that “there is nothing that necessitated anybody to think that the VC is resigning or is not happy although we acknowledge the face that it is hard time for everybody, the University and for other organizations and everybody appreciates it but we will do whatever we can to come out of it”, he assured.

Hear him: “We all woke up to the news like you heard, that the Vice has resigned but that is absolutely false in anyway, intended or unintended.
So, the Vice Chancellor has not, has no intention to resign for any reason but let me explain to you what has led to this; you recall that either in February or March, all educational institutions were closed, the University included and you know the major source of income in the University are the students and at the time of the closure, students were just registering. A good number had registered, a good number have not registered either. So because of the fee collected, we were able to continue to pay salary until the end of May and that time, we met with the staff, with the unions and everybody and explain to them the handicap because we don’t collect fees again, there is no other source of getting money to pay school fees.

“The state government subvents the salaries. They’ve been paying their own subvention but internally because we don’t have money from students, the University cannot make up to join portion of the salary.

“It was from June, we stopped paying salary and that’s where we are. Now, when the council became aware of this, we set up a committee to see what can be done to raise fund for the University.

“That committee worked with the union and other members of the Academia came up with the report which Thursday last week, was presented to the visitor to the University, the Governor of the state, Engr David Nweze Umahi.

“So on Thursday, that presentation was done by the Chairman of the Council; in that meeting, it was obvious that the Governor who had been saying that all institutions must make sacrifice in terms of reducing their wage bill, instructed that the University must go back and look at itself critically and see how they can sacrifice to reduce the salary, then know what else to help.

“You are aware that many institutions have reduced the salary, we should take our sister institution here in Ikwo, you know they have been receiving 85% off their salary since last year. And so they already thought that the University can make some sacrifice in terms of reducing their wage bill and then help in area they can. So, that’s what transpired.

“For the past two(2) days, we’ve been working on our activities to see where we can reduce to be able to satisfy him to enable him give us some assistance to continue to pay salary.

“So there is nothing that necessitated anybody to think that the VC is resigning or is not happy because these are hard time for everybody, for the University and for other organizations and we all appreciate it and will do whatever we can to come out of it.”