Crisis rocks N/Delta students union

The Niger Delta Students Union Government (NIDSUG) which is the highest students’ union governing body for students of Niger Delta region has known no peace recently following seemingly unending leadership crisis. The crisis started last week when its National President Comrade Obada Akpomiemie was impeached. It was alleged that Akpomiemie was using the name of […]

The Niger Delta Students Union Government (NIDSUG) which is the highest students’ union governing body for students of Niger Delta region has known no peace recently following seemingly unending leadership crisis.
The crisis started last week when its National President Comrade Obada Akpomiemie was impeached. It was alleged that Akpomiemie was using the name of the association to defraud people of huge sums of money.
The executive members (with exception of the treasurer) issued a complaint letter against the national president over financial fraud and impersonation to the Senate.
In an extraordinary Senate sitting held at the Rivers State College of Art and Science on August 25, 2015, Akpomiemie was sacked.
The Senate sitting had more than 20 senators who are representatives of their institutions with the agenda of considering the petition brought to its floor by the National Executive Council against Comrade Akpomiemie.
A seven-man committee headed by Comrade Iwu Franklin of Imo State University Owerri formed earlier to look into the petition reported that Akpomiemie declined all the invitations from the committee and instead resorted to continuous verbal threats to the lives of the committee members.
The Senate while frowning at Akpomiemie’s action invoked the constitution of NIDSUG section 17. Consequently, Comrade Williams Welemu of Niger Delta University Amasoma, Bayelsa State, moved the motion for his impeachment which was seconded by Comrade Richard Chukwu of Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State.
 Subsequently, the Senate President briefed the congress of their resolution. Chaos ensued for about 20 minutes as many favoured the impeachment while few kicked against it.
As the controversy surged, the Senate President called on the congress to vote for or against the impeachment. 71 voted for, 2 voted against while others were undecided.
The Senate President later announced the impeachment of Akpomiemie as National President NIDSUG while the Vice President Administration Comrade Bariture Ngbee was empowered to fully take over as president of NIDSUG as contained in section 18 of the constitution. 
The former president has described the impeachment process as baseless. According to him, NIDSUG is yet to get both Senate and Deputy Senate President, adding that he is yet to submit all official documents and the mace of the body.
He further alleged that the election that brought in Comrade Chimdi Obiarandu as the Senate President was declared inconclusive when the electoral committee noticed that Obiarandu was not a student as he claimed.
He said his administration is still putting things in place to conduct elections for the Senate House. “I am just trying to manage the issues and carry everybody along for the development of our dear union,” he said.
 The chairman of all the state coordinators, a student of Cross River State University, Comrade Ubi Jasem, said the impeachment of NIDSUG National President was not real.  “If there was any sitting, no Senator from my state attended. I’m also aware that the mace is still with the president who was our former Senate president.”
However, the Senate President, Obiarandu in exclusive interview said “if Akpomiemie is not okay with his impeachment, let him go to court.”
(Ahanonu wrote in from Unical)