By Samuel Oyadongha

Vice Chancellor of Bayelsa Medical University, BMU, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu has absolved Governor Douye Diri of any involvement in the decision by the institution to disengage 198 persons improperly absorbed in 2019 during the last administration.

He declared their engagement as improper and in violation of the employment rules of the institution.

Etebu, who made this known, yesterday, against the backdrop of claims in some quarters that Diri was responsible for their sack, said the institution decided to disengage them due to demand for new lecturers needed for the several accredited courses of the institution.

He said: “The current governor has nothing to do with anything. I am the Vice Chancellor, I told them, because they were trying to destabilise the institution. Every time they were threatening, saying they are going to do this and that. And I told them, look, you have no use to us, you don’t even come to work and if you ask very well, because of the hard times, we have tolerated them for all this while, but they are now trying to take advantage of that.

“The institution decided to step them down due to constant security reports of their threats/restiveness to go on protest and make the university unmanageable.

“Aside that, in this last quarter of the year, we are going to be embarking on a flurry of advisory visits from over 13 regulatory bodies and the NUC. This is a ritual in a specialised university like ours. Those outside the system do not understand these dynamics.

“We need professional lecturers, technologists, technicians among others. Now, all that is in the mind of our people is employment for our ‘young graduates’ irrespective of our specialised requirements.”