The crises rocking Tansian University, Oba campus is far from over, as Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, chairman of Ranent Industries Nigeria Ltd has again asked the National Universities Commission NUC to shut down the campus.
Ezeonwuka in a Press Statement said it has come to a point where the current management of the university have perfected an evil plan to take over the property, which he said he used to secure the university’s licence for the founder, late Rev Fr Johnbosco Akam.
A furious Ezeonwuka stated that the current management of the school snatched it from those it was willed to by Akam, and are now out to also grab his own property in like manner. This he said cannot happen, even as he called on NUC to shut down the campus, since the school has refused to honour the agreement they reached.
He also advised parents and guardians who have wards in the school to, as a matter of urgency, withdraw them, since it’s management are illgaly occupying the facility.
His words;
“Tansian University belonged to me and Johnbosco Akam. I used my property as collateral to get a stamp from the NUC for the establishment of Tansian University. I used my industry property in Oba as a take off campus, while we have the permanent site at Umunya. So I endorsed every endorsable document, where a kobo was not paid to me. But I made available my property. Eventually, when they at NUC Abuja needed to see the property, I had a little fund, loan in the bank, about 14 million plus, which I told Monsignor, ‘pay this money so I can get the document out so they can stamp the licence’ .
“The person who assisted us was Chief Andy Uba, and I brought so many people to invest in the university. At the end of the day, when the licence was available for us to start running the school, Johnbosco started dragging that he is the sole owner of the school. We fought and fought, everybody knows about it. If you go to Google and search for ‘ownership crises of Tansian University’, you will get a lot of information on that. You will see where we were dragging what belonged to who, what percentage belonged to who.
“It got to a point where we went to court. We went to High Court, Ogidi, and he presented all the documents, claiming that I signed, that I sold the land to him. I asked him, what document were they going to use and stamp the licence? Eventually, it was agreed that the case be withdrawn from the court, for us to have what is described as terms of settlement. I will soon make the document public.
“That was where the battle for Tansian University ended. It was agreed that I relinquish ownership of the university, and it was also agreed that he would also relinquish my property back to me, and start paying rent. That after 25 years, the university would relocate to Umunya. We signed, with some witnesses. The current chief judge of Anambra State was involved. He started paying, and paid rent for six years.
“This man, Fr Obiora then came into the picture and said he was going to reverse the consent judgment. He tried but the chief judge told him it cannot be treated in court because it is consent judgment. They were told to pay the rents and he refused. Even when Johnbosco wanted to continue paying the rent, he asked him never to pay the rents anymore. We filed to execute court order on the rent, and the court told us to go and recover our money, which was then two years outstanding. We ejected them from the property, because they have refused to pay. The total rent they are owing now is for eight years, which is 80 million naira.
“We ejected them. Now, these people are plotting to take my property. Who are these people? They are not even part of the university. Even Johnbosco didn’t will the university to them. They assembled themselves, led by Obiora and one Enugu State man called Innocent Ukeh who has mastered the art of forgery of documents.
“I locked up my property and said if there is anyone ready to discuss with me, they should come, but these people said no, they must take my property by force. Oke ana eri ife onye mu anya? There is no kind of people they have not brought to intimidate me over my property. They have brought navy, about 50. When the navy came, they saw the truth and left. They invited Zone 13, they came and saw the truth and left.
“They brought Force Headquarters and they came, in order to arrest me. I showed them the documents and they left because they saw the truth. What is now trending is that they are saying is that they will come and open the place by force.
“What I am saying is that this is private business and has nothing to do with the government. It has nothing to do with Catholic church. Those dragging it are a circle of cabal, has nothing to do with the university. They are not even related to Johnbosco, those that Johnbosco wanted to take over have been chased away by these hawks.
“The world should be aware. They cannot hijack my property, that is impossible. If you come to Oba, you will see, it was a place with 450 workers and Taiwanese engineers, about 80 to 90. But I shut it down because factories don’t work anymore. And I used that place as take off campus for Tansian. I told them to go to Umunya permanently since they don’t want to pay me.
“Anything about the sustenance of Tansian University depends on the Terms of Settlement which was decided with the Consent Judgment. It was there that the owner of the university, with the financier, which is Rommy Ezeonwuka, after we got the license, we had tussles about the ownership. I used the property to get the licence, thereby contributing equity in the ownership of the licence. When the ownership was calibrated, I had 81% against Johnbosco’s 13%. It was established so. When this crises was going on, there was somebody else that discovered that in NUC, that I was the highest contributor in the NUC, which Sam Obaji came to me and asked if two of us can join and own the university, and share it.
“He suspended Johnbosco, and wanted us to jointly own the university. But I refused because a lot of elders said let us have terms of settlement. This was done by bringing out the matter from the court. That’s what they are referring to, claiming purchase.
“If they have conscience, they should go to the document agreed by the two founders of Tansian University. Tansian University was jointly established by myself and Johnbosco, we jointly registered the school in NUC.
“The witnesses and signatories to the terms of settlement are alive, which none of these people are close. None of them is part of the management of Tansian University.
“They are hijackers, but they can only hijack the university because I have relinquished the ownership to Johnbosco. But they cannot hijack my property. The public should know that these are criminals, trying to hijack my property. Let them take the university because I am no more fighting for it’s ownership. If I hadn’t signed the terms of settlement, I will take the university, because I am the one who used my particulars to get it. If you say I signed, I had to release the document. As a matter of fact, if you say I sold my property, where are the receipts? Who are the witnesses?
“The bank manager is alive, he knows what we did. In our tradition, what we do is to use what we have to get what we want. If you have an investment of 100 billion and you want to borrow one million, what you do is to endorse that 100 billion naira document as if you have given it away as a collateral. That’s a collateral for my ownership of Tansian University. The property is over 3 billion naira. That 14 million naira was paid in the bank, is that why these people will say I sold the property? Are they the owner? Do they have anything with the owner? Do they know how Johnbosco died? Enough is Enough. Let them stop maligning my name. They are lucky and have a permanent site. They should go and depart from my property. If they say they want to get there anyhow, I advise parents to withdraw their children, and I have already written NUC to close down that Oba campus.
Ezeonwuka also threw more insight into the property ownership debacle. His words;
“These people are hawks, they don’t know anything about Tansian University, they are criminals, trying to hijack my property.
“Saying that the land was sold by the bank is rubbish. I invested my property to assist late Monsignor Johnbosco Akam get the property under Equity Partnership. I was not paid any money. That money was paid in the bank to get the documents where the NUC shall stamp the licence. You cannot stamp a university license on a vacuum. How can a normal person say that a property of 3 billion naira was sold for a mere 14 million paid to bank? The general public should know that these priests and those working with them have very strong crooked tendencies, and are tyring to rob me of my property.
“Look at what they are talking. There is a suit HID/89/2008. That is where all these things they are talking were trashed. After that, we went into Terms of Agreement, which was entered in court as Consent Judgment. Why are these people not talking about consent judgment and terms of settlement which I reached with the owner of the university? Does these frauds know anything about the ownership?
“There was a time I forfeited the ownership of the university to Johnbosco, I was supposed to have equity of at least 50%, because it was me that provided the property for which the licence was stamped.
“Therefore, I had an equity in the university. But now, I don’t have equity in the university. These people should carry their university and get away from my property. They are painting all these rubbish.
“I made available my property to the company upon which the licence was stamped. That’s why I made a conveyance to that property to the university to get the licence stamped. What I have is an equity, it is my contribution in NUC as the financier, and the financier can make his property available for the licence.
“These frauds are trying to confuse the public.
“Their claims are rubbish, it’s completely useless. It was trashed on the suit, before we withdrew the suit, and now came into terms of agreement, and now, the agreement says all suits about the controversy about the ownership or no ownership is hereby withdrawn.
“They should publish the terms of settlement which is with the owner of the university. These people are not part and parcel of the university, they are hawks, they are egbe!”, he stated.