EKPOMA – Palpable tension has gripped Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, as the institution teeters on the edge of an industrial explosion.
At the center of the brewing storm is the alleged diversion of a ₦1 billion life-line released by the Governor Monday Okpebholo-led administration, intended to offset months of salary arrears.
Despite the Executive’s intervention to provide relief from the financial wickedness of the previous administration, university staff are reportedly languishing in penury, over a month after the funds were purportedly released to the school’s management.
The ₦1 Billion Mystery
Strong allegations emerging from within the university’s administrative corridors suggest that the ₦1 billion intervention fund is currently being fixed in an undisclosed commercial bank to accrue interest.
This move has sparked outrage among academic and non-academic staff, who have yet to see a kobo of the arrears, Standarddailypress.com gathered.
”The Governor’s magnanimity is being systematically defeated by the inaction of the University Administration,” one staff member, speaking on condition of anonymity, lamented.
“We are at a loss as to why money meant for starving workers is sitting in a bank vault while we can’t afford basic necessities.”
A Bleak Easter Celebration
The situation has been further exacerbated by the management’s failure to pay March 2026 salaries. As the Christian faithful prepare for Easter celebrations, the AAU community finds itself in a state of mourning rather than festivity.
The non-payment of current wages, coupled with the “missing” arrears, has created a volatile atmosphere on campus.
Management vs. Governing Council
This financial scandal is only one layer of a deepening leadership crisis. Reports indicate that the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Eunice Omonzejie, is on a warpath with the University Governing Council and the Visitor to the University.
Sources claim the Vice-Chancellor has taken several daring steps to undermine the Council’s authority, including:
Withholding statutory allowances and withdrawing official vehicles from Council members, this includes relocating Council members to sub-standard accommodations during statutory meetings.
The VC is allegedly inciting staff unions to protest Council-approved appointments for the University Bursar and Internal Auditor.
A “Disastrous” Turn of Events
Stakeholders within the university have expressed shock at the Vice-Chancellor’s current trajectory, describing her six-month administration as an “absolute disaster.”
Critics argue that a leader who once seemed aligned with the struggle for the university’s development has now turned against its emancipation, acting more as a sole administrator than a collaborative leader.
”The Governor’s dream of a world-class university is being sabotaged from within,” a union leader noted.
“The management is moving at a snail’s pace while the Governor is running to fix the state. We need a radical change of attitude toward staff welfare immediately.”
Silence from the Ivory Tower
Efforts to reach the University’s Public Relations Officer for an official reaction proved abortive, as his official lines remained unreachable at the time of filing this report.
As the 21st March 2026 deadline set by the Governing Council regarding statutory prerogatives passes, all eyes are now on Governor Monday Okpebholo to see if the Visitor will intervene to rescue the Point of Light from total eclipse.