General News of Monday, 13 August 2012

Source: Focus FM, KNUST-Kumasi

NUGS Congress Flops

The 46th Annual congress of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has been marred by violence.
The congress, which began on Wednesday at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), came to an abrupt end on Sunday when chaos broke out prior to the election.
A car alleged to belong to the General Secretary of the union was found with about three brand new cutlasses in it. A section of the participants at the congress got agitated and consequently tried to seize the car and its contents. This degenerated into a struggle during which the police came around to take the vehicle and its contents away.
But speaking to Kwasi Addai Mununkum Otchere, immediate past SRC president of the University of Cape Coast, he explains that the elections were supposed to have been held on Saturday and not Sunday.
He says they were arguing over how the election would be held in the night while there is no backup power supply. At the same time there was an ongoing issue regarding the delegates list which was to be used in voting.
Macho men were cited at the grounds.
Police and military men were also cited at the congress grounds trying to salvage the situation.
The SRCs and local NUGS of the various Universities have since taken charge of the union and have suspended the congress till further notice.
Students are at a loss to what the next line of action is, and many are leaving for their various campuses.

-Bernard Buachi

Focus FM, KNUST-Kumasi.