The Cross River State Government has dismissed as false a rumour that it plans to relocate the Okuku Campus of the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) to Akamkpa, describing the claim as a politically motivated fabrication designed to cause unrest.
In a press statement issued Tuesday and made available to THE WHISTLER, the Commissioner for Education, Senator Professor Stephen Adi Odey, said the rumour had spread rapidly across the state, causing needless anxiety among students, parents, staff and residents of Yala and surrounding communities.
“This rumour, which has gained alarming traction across the State, has provoked unnecessary anxiety among students, parents, staff and the good people of Yala and its environs,” he said, adding that his office had been “inundated with calls from all quarters seeking verification of this phantom claim.”
Odey rejected the rumour in emphatic terms. “Let it be stated categorically, unequivocally, and beyond any reasonable doubt: there is no iota of truth in this rumour,” he said.
“It is a complete fabrication, a product of the vivid imagination of political detractors who are determined to create chaos, sow discord, and distract the Government from its commitment to educational development,” he said.
The rumour had earlier drawn a response from the PDP’s deputy governorship candidate in Cross River State, Alphonsus Ogar Eba, who urged residents of Yala to remain calm while pressing the government for clarity.
“I want to appeal on behalf of our people that this plan, if it is true, will not be welcomed by our people who are yet to recover from the relocation of Radio Ugaga over two decades ago,” Eba said, calling on the government to “immediately reconsider the decision and please make a categorical public statement to douse the tension.”
He linked the rumour to broader grievances facing the region, describing it as part of what he called “a calculated attempt at annihilating shining stars and crippling the social political ecosystem of our people and region.”
He urged residents to stay peaceful, saying, “please remain calm and peaceful because any evil or injustice done will surely be redressed if not now, surely in the future.”
Responding to such concerns, Odey said the opposite of the rumour was in fact true. “His Excellency, Governor Bassey Edet Otu, through the able leadership of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Francisca Bassey, has recently approved the renovation of facilities at the Okuku Campus, further demonstrating the Government’s commitment to improving infrastructure and strengthening academic activities at the Okuku Campus,” he said.
The commissioner said the Okuku Campus was not relocating but expanding. “The Okuku Campus is not relocating. It is growing. It is thriving. And it will continue to be a centre of academic excellence for generations to come,” he said, advising “the general public and the good people of Yala… to discountenance this false rumour forthwith.”
(The Whistler)