Sen. Monday Okpebholo, the governor of Edo State, has promised that his administration will look into the reasons why the 2015 class of medical students from Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, was not inducted until months after graduating.
During a brief detour on his way from Irrua, Governor Okpebholo met with the irate medical students at the institution’s gate in Ekpoma and promised to address the ongoing delay as soon as possible.
After meeting with the graduates, who had attended the medical school for ten years, the governor told reporters that he understood their fatherly suffering and promised to bring the acting vice chancellor to talk about the future.
He emphasized that his government wants the best for all Edo residents, including the medical students who are demonstrating. He asked them to exercise patience as serious efforts are made to remedy the problems.
Precious Omohegbele, the students’ spokesperson, stated that she and her classmates had completed ten years of medical school and graduated in August 2024, but they had not been inducted. She urged the governor to intervene and assist in resolving the situation so that the 2015 AAU Medical Set can be inducted and begin their housemanship.
“We are the 2015 Set of medical students of AAU, and we are medical graduates now. We graduated on August 15, 2024, and have spent five months at home, and we have not been inducted. We ought to be halfway into our house training by now.”
“There might be problems hindering our induction, but we cannot keep waiting as we have already spent 10 years in medical school (2015-2025). We are appealing to Your Excellency to save us from this situation. You are the only person we can appeal to at this point to help resolve these challenges facing us. It would be unfair for 167 of us to remain at home after 10 years of training as we are not growing younger each passing day, Omohegbele concluded.”
In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Edo State Governor, Fred Itua, which reads in part, “Under the watch of the former Governor Godwin Obaseki, the State-owned university had suffered many challenges ranging from lack of funding, failure to attract investments and partnership to the University, none payment of workers’ salaries, failure to implement the national minimum wage, support for structural growth as well as non-accreditation of courses, among others.”
“Instead of addressing the existential challenges, the then administration inaugurated a Special Intervention Team (SIT), led by some of their political friends, who embarked on witch-hunting, sacking lecturers, hiking tuition fees and causing more problems.”
“It was under the same administration that university unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Congress of University Academics (CONUA), Senior Staff Association of Nigeria University (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologist (NAAT) and None Academic Staff Union of University (NASUU), serially embarked on strikes due to unpaid salaries, unfriendly policies, appointment of Acting Vice Chancellor for the university and other governance issues.”
“However, in a bold move to reposition the School, Governor Okpebholo, upon assumption of office, directed the immediate reinstatement of all AAU staff who were dismissed in March 2023. The lecturers were reportedly dismissed for protesting against unfavourable labour practices, including the non-payment of their salaries and other outstanding entitlements”.
