Why UEW VC Avoke and 6 others were asked to proceed on leave

The Governing Council of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), has rejected claims that its decision to ask six top officials of the institution to step aside pending the outcome investigations into an alleged misconduct, is prejudicial to a pending court case.

The Council in a statement signed by its Chairman, Prof. Emmanuel Nicholas Abakah, said “The stepping aside is without prejudice to the outcome of the issues at the courts.”

“We urge the general public to crosscheck their facts before making pronouncements on the decisions taken by the governing council of the University of Education, Winneba,” the statement added.

The school is currently under investigation after a complaint was filed by one Supi Kofi Kwayera, alleging financial and procurement irregularities.

The council on October 31, 2017 asked its Vice Chancellor and five other top officers to step aside, after it emerged that some vital documents at some offices at the centre of the ongoing investigation had gone missing.

Some persons, who are keenly interested in the matter have however criticized the decision saying it could be prejudicial against the case in court.

Prof. Abakah further explained that, asking the six officers in question to step aside was in respect of the ongoing investigation.

“We wish to put on record that the recent decision of the governing council to request six (6) of our officers to step aside was purely in respect of the on-going investigations by EOCO, BNI and the Governing Council,” the statement added.

The affected UEW officers are:

1.Prof. Mawutor Avoke, Vice Chancellor

2.Dr. Theopilus Senyo Ackorlie, Finance Officer

3.Mr. Frank Owusu Boateng, Deputy Finance Officer

4.Ms Sena Dake, Internal Auditor

5.Ms. Mary Dzimey, Ag. Head of Procurement

6.Ing. Daniel Tetteh, Ag. Deputy Director of Works & Physical Development

Background

A Winneba High Court some months ago also ordered the Vice Chancellor of UEW, Professor Mawutor Avoke, to step aside until a case brought against him and the University’s Governing Council is determined.

The order also affected the institution’s Finance Officer.

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

The plaintiff adduced that the 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 and permitted the defunct Governing Council which had no mandate whatsoever to continue the functions of a properly constituted Governing Council as if same had been properly constituted.

This, Mr. Kwayera insisted was unlawful, and hence his legal action against the University of Education, Winneba.

However, before the substantive claims were looked into, the University, through its lawyers, applied to the court to dismiss the suit on the three counts, but the application was dismissed.

The University’s branch of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), also applied to join the application but it was turned down.