By Ikeugonna Eleke
The Management of the College of Postgraduate Studies in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, has reacted to recent allegations that students of the college were being extorted from.
A press release by the Associate Provost (Humanities), for the College, Prof. E. O. C. Obidimma, described allegations that students paid as much as N8, 500 just to check their results as fallacious and untrue.
Speaking on behalf of the College, Obidimma passed a vote of confidence on the Provost of the College, Prof Philomena Igbokwe, saying that the College would stop at nothing to seek legal redress from those who spread false information.
Some online news outfits had recently published several allegations against the College, insisting that a lot of criminal acts and shady deals were going on in the College.
But in its reaction, the College, speaking through Prof Obidimma, said: ‘The College hereby denies the contents of the said online publication in its entirety as it contains no iota of truth in any ramification.
‘The publication under reference is malicious and only intended to malign and harm the reputation of the College of Postgraduate Studies and to bring the individuals mentioned therein into public opprobrium and ridicule.
‘Of a truth, there is no extortion and fraudulent crimes being perpetrated in the College against the students and no student is made to pay the sum of N8, 400.
‘There is also no threat to any student of not seeing his/her results on account of non-payment of the alleged amount demanded. These allegations are fallacious and are as baseless as they are unfounded.
‘The College does not generate results. Results are computed/generated by departments where students have the opportunity of seeing their results if they wish to. This is not shrouded in secrecy. The College only collates results for presentation to the College Board for approval.’
The College said the said publication injured its image and said it would stop at nothing to seek redress in court.
‘On the issue of Postgraduate students spending many years in running Postgraduate Programmes, the College stated that the issue could not be located at the doorstep of the College except for the purpose of calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
‘The College is not unmindful of the defamatory nature of the publication under reference and the potential damage it could cause as it is understood that the sole purpose of the said publication is to tarnish the image of the College and that of the individuals whose names and photographs were published therein.
‘The College is taking steps to remedy this wrong, and the individuals mentioned in the publication are also taking steps to initiate the appropriate legal actions to remedy the incalculable damage,’ the College said.
