8th UCSUG SENATE Continues Its Crusade of Illegalities as Suspended Director of Information and…

8th UCSUG SENATE Continues Its Crusade of Illegalities as Suspended Director of Information and Sergeant-at-Arms Are To Resume Freely.

Recall that, I had earlier published a piece on the **8th University of Calabar Students' Union Government Senate Romance With Illegalities(click here), over the illegal suspension of the Director of Information, Onigah Joseph following a faulty and frivolous petition by one Senator Richard Uyok** of the Faculty of Law. Ordinarily, one would have expected that following the publication, the 8th Senate would have been proactive in correcting her mistakes. By recalling the Suspended Director of Information, apologizing and also dismissing the petitioner who triggered the ruckus and legislative somersault.

But it took ten(10) days after the Students' Union Government High Court had given a judgment demanding that the investigative panel be reconstituted because it had persons who had displayed bias and were more likely to act against the interest of justice. This development is surprising when it is understood that by the express provisions of Section 54(d) the panel is mandated to report back to the Senate, after which a debate and vote would be needed to decide on the fate of any suspended official.

Despite this delay in reconstituting the panel, the Senate finally made the publication reconstituting the investigative panel for the Suspended Director of Information on the 25th of June 2021. This was not the only decision of the Senate that was publicized on the said day, the Senate also constituted a committee to investigate the Suspended Sergeant at Arms, Oscar Nwabunkeonye who was suspended for ‘negligence of duty. What is surprising about the committee is the inclusion of the former Students’ Union Government President as a member of the panel, when the now suspended Sergeant at Arms was his former Special Assistant. Where then is the justice?

A careful perusal of the Senate’s publication on the sitting of the 25th of June shows that the Sergeant at Arms was suspended on grounds of the negligence of duty in Section 32(2,10). This becomes particularly interesting because the suspension of the Sergeant at Arms is also illegal. Section 55 of the UCSUG constitution clearly articulates the grounds for the removal of any Union official “A person holding the office of President of the Students’ Union Government or any other office in the Students’ Union shall not be impeached or removed from office except by legislation or decision of the Senate for inefficiency, abuse of office, official corruption or stated misconduct provided that such a person shall not be removed or impeached unless:

It goes on to detail the procedure, but studying the section above, Negligence of Duty(nor acting inconsistently with the rules of professional conduct according to the petitioner) is not listed as an offense that warrants suspension pending an investigation by the Senate. Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius; the expression of one thing is the exclusion of the other. The offenses for which Section 55 can be enforced are clearly stated, and no letter of the section suggests the inclusion of negligence. Again, the Senate has erroneously suspended a man without course to the dictates of the law. Thirty (30) out of Forty-Seven Senators present voted in support of illegality.

This habit of enforcing alien laws is disturbing, as real people are suffering real consequences for the actions and inactions or lack of legislative experience of the current Senate leadership.

The culture of silence of the 8th Senate on crucial matters is also a cause for concern. The then Deputy Senate President was rumored to have assaulted a student, for more than a week that was the dominant conversation and the Senate never gave a response till the Vice-Chancellor personally suspended the Senate principal officer, even when residents of Hall six had demanded the impossible by asking for the dismissal of the Deputy Senate President from office or removal of parties involved in the controversy from the hostel, the Senate failed to educate students on the position of the law as it was solely their duty to take action. The attention of the Senate has been called to the faulty petition from one of her members against the Director of Information, almost a month it is yet to take action against the petitioner, Senator Richard Uyok. Senator Otogo Bernard Oko has also drafted a frivolous petition against the Director of Welfare to which he has responded, the Senate is yet to commence any action.

Does this beg the question is the Senate now obsessed with doing the impossible and enforcing injustice through illegalities while sleeping on her legislative duties and responsibilities?

All of this is not to support any particular union official who may have a character flaw or serve as a devil’s advocate but to canvass for due process as the 8th Senate continues on its mission to build a legacy in the Union, the time is still ripe to get back to the drawing board, learn and get the job done.

Daniel Faithful Miebaka

formerly a Senator of the 5th UCSUG Senate.