UEW saga: The church mustn’t be divisive; Prof. Afful-Broni must step aside – MP

The Member of Parliament for Bongo, Edward Bawa is concerned a man of the clergy is at the heart of the leadership crisis that has engulfed the University of Education, Winneba.

He feels on those grounds alone the UEW Vice Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Prof. Anthony Afful-Broni, should step aside in the name of peace.

Prof. Afful-Broni’s dismissal of some lecturers sparked student protests that culminated in the school being shut down indefinitely.

Students and the University Teachers Association of Ghana have accused the VC of trying to sabotage the school.

Speaking on The Big Issue, Mr. Bawa insisted that “the church cannot be seen as a dividing force so when you are the reason there is a problem, you could be right you could be wrong, excuse yourself.”

“In the spirit of reconciliation and in the spirit of the progress of the university, I think professor Afful-Broni should step aside. His first call is to be a priest. His first and primary call is to evangelise… I think [an] Archbishop of Central Region should also step in. If your presence can create chaos in an environment, it is only fair that you are taken out,” Mr. Bawa concluded.

Some MPs have also voiced concern with Prof. Afful-Broni’s methods with the Minority Spokesperson on Education, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, accusing the Vice-Chancellor of mismanagement.

He, for example, said the Vice-Chancellor had spent over GHc 5.7 million on transportation and honorarium in just six months.

Effutu MP Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who has been very vocal on the school’s affairs, also called on Prof. Afful-Broni to resign.

“Afful-Broni was supposed to do [more], but he has failed. I am sure that in the next few days if he has a conscience, he will resign and leave the university because he has failed the University. Afful-Broni has failed the University; he has misled all of us – that is a matter of fact. Mistakes of the past shouldn’t be repeated,” he said on Monday.

Resolution in sight?

Prof. Afful-Broni, the school’s board chair, Prof. Emmanuel Nicholas Abakah and other stakeholders have since agreed to work towards addressing the current challenges at the school.

The two were part of a meeting involving the Minister for Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Mr. Afenyo-Markin, among other stakeholders in Accra on Friday aimed at ensuring lasting peace on the school’s campus.

Dr. Opoku Prempeh following the meeting expressed hope that the new found understanding “will serve as a bedrock for peaceful deliberations and relations henceforth and that peace in the university be prioritized in all their dealings.”