There is disquiet at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, over the management’s alleged undue interference in the Students Union Government, SUG, election.
Our gathered that the election is scheduled to hold this Thursday.
However, the disqualification of some popular candidates has unsettled the institution.
Aggrieved students of the institution are now appealling to the Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, to urgently intervene to avert avoidable crisis.
The students maintained that the disqualification of some of the contestants without justification was unconstitutional and would not be accepted.
One of them and top contender for the position of SUG President, Mr Chibuzo Longinus Ozorinyiegbu said that he was unjustly disqualified by the management to pay the wave for a preferred candidate, an act he said was responsible for lack of transparency and accountability in the system over the years.
“I am a 300-level student in the department of political science. I indicated interest to run for the position of SUG President and have consulted widely, including printing of posters and flyers.
“After I passed the school screening, they brought the DSS for security screening. As if that was not enough, they equally brought Anti-Cult for the same screening.
“It was after these screenings that a memo was released and some of us were said to have been disqualified.
“We now went to the office of the Dean, Students’ Affairs to know the reason behind our purported disqualification but got no answer, as he told us to forget about the election and face our studies.
“That’s my major problem now. You said I was disqualified after screening by the DSS and Anti-Cult, who among them found me wanting?
“My reputation and future is at stake now because people need to know if I’m a cultist or have committed any crime in the past. There must be an answer and reason for my disqualification,” he said.
Ozorinyiegbu told journalists that he had already obtained a court order stopping the election from holding as earlier scheduled.
He alleged that the whole process was faulty, including the setting up of the electoral committee which has no faculty representation as was required by the SUG constitution.
He called for a strict adherence to the constitution of the SUG in the conduct of the election, which he believed would provide a level playing ground for all the contestants.
The SUG President expressed fear over the future of the country if such alleged injustice, manipulation and open rigging could be allowed in an institution that was supposed to breed future leaders.
Meanwhile, a message sent by OsunDailyNG to the Public Relations Officer of ESUT, Mr Ikechukwu Ezianioma has not been responded to as of the time of filing this report.
