The internal tussle between the Vice-Chancellor Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Prof. Francis Otunta and his predecessor, Prof. Hilary Edeoga seems to have taken a turn for worse as the 400 workers sacked Monday were said to have been appointed by the latter.

 Sources told theledgerng.com that the over 400 academic and non-academic staff reportedly employed by Edeoga before his exit  were being owed six months’ salary, and  25% of their entitlements before their sack.

 Some of the workers however has  resolved to take the matter up with civil society organisations including the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and the Trade Union  Congress of Nigeria, TUC adding that they had lost confidence in both the academic on-academic and nStaff Unions of the University.

 The decision to sack the workers was said to have been taken at a recent meeting of the governing council of the MOUAU.

 Some of those affected by the purge said they were shocked to receive the letters terminating their appointment because they attended the regularisation interview conducted in 2016 by the former VC.

 According to them, they did not collect their letters of regularisation before Edeoga's tenure expired.

 One of the workers, Chidi Nwankwo, said that immediately Prof. Otunta assumed office as VC, he allegedly declared the regularisation interview inconclusive and mandated all affected staff to re-apply with good reasons why their appointments should be renewed.

 He said, “We all re-pplied, although we were apprehensive that the new VC wanted to sack most of us and replace us with his kinsmen and friends based on our previous experience.

 “We were not surprised when news broke out that the Governing Council of the university decided to sack all of us. We had been complaining about it right from the day he declared the regularisation interview inconclusive.

 “Some of us were offered temporary appointments, while others were head-hunted to join the university from other universities. Majority of us were interviewed after sometime, which is a standard civil service rule, in a bid to regularise our appointments.”

 According to Nwankwo, the former VC did not have time to sign the letters of  regularisation or authorise the registrar to do same before activities marking his pulling out commenced.

 But, in separate interviews, a member of the governing council of MOUAU, Prof. Ike Nwachukwu, and the ASUU chairman, Prof. Chinyere Echendu, told our correspondent that the decision was final.

 “It is a management decision and so it’s the VC or Public Relations Officer of the university that can respond to your enquiries. I don’t have any authority to do that. I am not denying the fact that I was at the meeting. But, after the meeting, there are statutory people who respond to such issues,” Nwachukwu said.

 Echendu said, “They should be up to 400 of them that are affected. But no worker was sacked. Anybody who told you that is not telling the truth. The group you are talking about are people who were given letters on temporary basis. And that automatically terminated after one year.”

 Also, a former ASUU chairman in MOUAU, Prof. U.A.U. Onyebinama, said there was no provision for renewal in their condition of service.

 He said, “It is not easy to sack a worker. The problem we have is that there were people who were on temporary appointment, which, just on its own, automatically elapsed. So, it is not about the university sacking anybody''