NACRISS WW EXCO Dissolves Amidst Chaos!

Efio-Ita Nyok|9 May 2016|6:20m

The Comrade Uke Marshal led Executive Council of National Association of Cross River State Students (NACRISS) World Wide, which was sworn into office on the 16th day of January 2015, came to an unceremonial end in the wee hours of last week, 6 May.

The Dissolution Congress which was convened by the erstwhile Secretary General of NACRISS WW but now Secretary of NACRISS WW Electoral Committee, Comr. Johnson Okam, at the instance of the erstwhile President Uke Marshal was characterised by a handful of discrepancies.

The congress which lasted for barely an hour beginning from 7:30am did not witness the usual protocols for a congress of such magnitude. For the records, four anomalies have been identified to have characterised Comr. Uke Marshal's 6th May, Millennium Park Dissolution Congress. They are:

*venue for Dissolution Congress, Millennium Park, wasn't befitting for an association of such standing
*then President did not call for nominations from the floor of the congress into NACRISS WW Electoral Committee and the Office of Sole Administrator (SOLAD).
*thirdly, the then President did not call for 'motions of dissolution' of his government.
*Fourthly, the spread of the then President's appointments did not respect the untacit zoning system that is acknowledged in NACRISS WW business over time.

To begin with, in respect of the first anomalie, which has to do with the failure of Marshal to locate a befitting venue for his dissolution congress; Marshall invited 'Nacrites to the open and unsecured environment of Millennium Park' popularly called Eleven Eleven according to a reliable source. Weren't there higher institutions venues for such a congress to have been held? It would interest the reader to discover that Nacrites were compelled to stand all through the so called dissolution congress. What happened to halls, lecture theatres, or even classrooms etc in University of Calabar, Calabar; Cross River University of Technology(with four campuses spread across the state); College of Education, Akamkpa; Federal College of Education, Obudu; College of Health Technology, Calabar; and a host of others!? Besides, 'there wasn't any presence of security operatives at the venue of the dissolution congress' according to another source.

Secondly, before the two motions of dissolution were to have been called by whoever would have been announced to be the Sole Administrator, President Marshal was expected to have called for two valid motions of nomination into the electoral committee and office of Sole Administrator. Albeit, what Marshal practically did was to announce the appointment of Comr. Obo Aniyom, of the University of Calabar from Cross River State southern senatorial district, the electoral committee chair; next, he announced the appointment of Comr. George Ajangson still of the University of Calabar and from central senatorial district of Cross River State, the Sole Administrator; the electoral committee Secretary was announced to be Comr. Okam Johnson, who is of Cross River  University of Technology and from the northern senatorial district of the state; Comr. Nkese Ita of the University of Calabar and from the southern senatorial district of the state as member; Comr. Emmanuel Akobi as member from the north and from University of Calabar; and Comr. Thankgod Godwin of Cross River University of Technology and from the Central Senatorial District of the state, as member.

Put differently and according to an aggrieved source, 'Nacrites from the three senatorial districts of north, central and south in the state didn't make their nominations. The appointments was done through an executive fiat'. Where then was the democracy? This was glaringly wrong such that Nacrites who were present and knowledgeable to know that Marshal was progressing in error pooh poohed the appointments, but their oppositions fell on the deaf ears of a President that didn't care. In fact, one of my sources categorised Marshal's Dissolution Congress of 6th May, 'a kangaroo congress' implying that it was bound not to follow any known code of decorum.

Thirdly, sequel to the announcement of the various appointments into the office of Sole Administrator and electoral committee, the Sole Administrator, that is, Comr. George Ajangson, was supposed to call for a valid motion of dissolution of the Uke Marshal led Executive Council of NACRISS WW. This never happened. What really transpired was, immediately after the announcement of appointments by the then President, while congress men and women were shouting in opposition, the congress came to an abrupt and unceremonial end about 8am. So, there was no official dissolution of the Uke Marshal led Executive Council.

Finally, Marshal's appointments didn't reflect the untacit zoning system acknowledged hitherto in NACRISS WW business. For instance, a Yakurr-born Nacrite, by name, Abanda Uket, has observed that, 'In the central senatorial district, Boki LGA repeated her presence in the ELECO in the person of George Ajangson. For in the ELECO that produced his administration, Omang Emmanuel a Boki son was the ELECO Secretary after a reconciliation. By this, the other LGAs of old Ikom (Ikom, Etung and Boki) are being denied the opportunity to serve in such capacity. The old Obubra is made up of Yakurr, Abi and Obubra'.

Indeed, Uke Marshal's 6th May, Millennium Park Dissolution Congress was 'a kangaroo one'. We are therefore calling on the relevant students related aides to the Governor of Cross River State especially Special Assistants Declan Genesis-Ogar, Prince Michael Nku Abuo, etc to wade into the ongoing conflict in view of aiding the apex students' association in reconciling their differences.

Efio-Ita Nyok
Is a Blogger & the Editor of Negroid Haven