The Governing Council Chairman of the University of Education, Winneba, has responded to a letter by Harold Tivah Atuguba, lawyer for the two dismissed staff of the University - Prof. Mawutor Avoke and Dr. Senyo Ackorlie.

In the letter, the Chair stated unequivocally, that the decision to dismiss the two staff was purely "the decision of the Governing Council of the University and not at the instance of any court decision, directive or consequential orders".

Background

The Winneba High Court in 2017 ordered Prof Avoke, to step aside until the case brought against him and the University’s Governing Council was determined.

The case brought before the court by one Supi Kofi Kwayera, who insisted that the Vice Chancellor and the Finance Officer, were operating under the institution’s defunct governing council.

The plaintiff argued that University’s Council’s mandate had expired in November 2013, but the Education Ministry failed to constitute a new Governing Council for the university and rather allowed the defunct Governing Council which had no mandate whatsoever to continue in the functions of a properly constituted Governing Council.

Supi Kofi Kwayera also alleged financial and procurement irregularities on the part of the Prof Avoke.

The court, in July 2017, then ordered Prof Avoke to step aside until a case brought against him and the University’s Governing Council was determined.

Also in July, Prof Avoke, along with four others; the Finance Officer, Dr. Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie; Daniel Tetteh, Mary Dzimey and Frank Owusu Boateng, were interdicted by the school after it emerged that some vital documents at some offices at the centre of an ongoing investigation had disappeared.

They were then found guilty of procurement and other financial irregularities in December 2017.

The irregularities had to do with the monies paid to the contractors of the North Campus Roads project.

In August 2018, the UEW governing council dismissed the five principal officers of the institution after a fact-finding committee had been set up to look into the matter.

Prof Avoke had maintained his innocence and had been challenging his indictment in court.

He took the case to the Labour Division of the Accra High Court but the case was beyond its jurisdiction.

This compelled his challenge in the Supreme Court.

Click this link for the full letter.