UPSA founder never asked for renaming – Alabi

The founder of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), now called Nana J. K. Opoku-Ampomah University of Professional Studies, never asked for the institute to be renamed after him, retired Vice-Chancellor, Professor Joshua Alabi, has said.

According to Prof Alabi, under his leadership, “the man never ever; what he rather asked for was for us, through his lawyers, to give him 25 per cent of all revenue from the university, which we declined; that is what he asked for, so, he never ever asked us for a change”.

Prof Alabi, who was a guest on Class 91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Monday, 30 April, told host Moro Awudu that the recommendation for a name-change came from the university’s council.

He indicated that the founder was well-compensated by government after the state took over the university.

The flag bearer-aspirant of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), was of the view that the university is under a different management and if they feel that the change in name will help improve and develop it further, then it is totally a leadership decision.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently commended the Governing Council of the University for its decision, in accordance with the Statutes of the University, to rename the school after the founder.

According to President Akufo-Addo, “It is a most excellent decision, which has received the approval of the President of the Republic, so that, once the parliamentary process has been completed, this university will be called thenceforth the Opoku Ampomah University of Professional Studies.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 25 April 2018, when he delivered the keynote address at events marking the 4th special Congregation ceremony of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA).

The Congregation ceremony, amongst others, also conferred honorary doctorate degrees on Nana J. K. Opoku-Ampomah, founder and first director of the Institute of Professional Studies and Mr. Ahmad Ahmad, Vice President of FIFA, the world governing body of football and President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).