Lofa County-The Lofa County University Press Bureau has condemned in the strongest term the recent barrage of attacks on the President of the Institution by those they called, ‘opposition elements and detractors’ who the bureau said do not want to see any progress at the university.
“These attacks are mere propaganda used as a distraction to slow the plans he has for the Institution,” the dispatch from the County Press Office said.
The Press Bureau indicated that publications besmirching the name of the President of the University are all lies and scare tactics to stop the president from taking legal actions against some ‘criminals’ who have been used to mike the university.
The release said, since taking over the school, Dr. Isaac Podah has instituted reforms that have met resistance from those the release referred to as ‘backward elements’ who have stolen from the institution deserving of funds.
“There have been investigations done on the payroll, reviews of documents and individuals have been found guilty and because of these, people are fighting proxy war by attacking the character of the president” the release indicated.
One of those mentioned in the statement by the press office of the LCU is Mr. Kemakoh Kamara; the Expeditor of the university who they claimed is fighting a proxy war for those hands he used to corrupt the system of thousands of United States Dollars of the University over years.
What are the facts?
The press release indicated that when the University president took office, in his induction speech, he called on Lofa citizens both at home and out of Liberia, to help academically impact the life of a child by buying a book (civics book) for a needy child or children.
The release furthered that some of the proceeds from the text books go to the university for classroom modernization, and 0.50 cents for students’ projects on campus and not what was recently reported that students at Lofa County University (LCU) are up in arms over what is described as a coercive and exploitative policy introduced by the university’s president, Dr. Isaac P. Podah.
The press office of the LCU indicated that the book is given to the students 1 USD and is paid through instruments and not what was reported that the President policy requires students to purchase textbooks he authored as a precondition for enrollment and that, US$25 is a requirement for enrollment at our beloved institution.
The media arm of the university said all these attacks are coming as a proxy war in favour of some of those staffers who have been suspended for their roles in defrauding the institution for the past years.
“There are some people who do not want to see this university moving forward and they are using every other means to distract the gains that are being made,” he said.
The Press Bureau intoned that currently, the president of the university has been flinging through some vultures with questionable names.
“The president will make public those names, the transaction dates and the full amounts that were criminally given to some individuals which cannot be accounted for. These are things that they are fighting by all means” , the Press Bureau said.
The statement furthered, “Some individuals received 88,367 USD, 279,381 USD, 297,933 USD and 51,000among others and because those individuals have started receiving calls about the criminal transactions, how the law is poised to go after them, they have launched media attacks on the President and we will soon provide full names of the questionable transactions.”
The Press office of the University in their statement strongly denied and categorically refuted the ‘inaccurate and misleading’ claims made in the recent publication by some local media. They said the articles contain false information that misrepresents university, values, and intentions.
“The President is committed to transparency, integrity, and upholding the highest standards in our operations and that is what is going deep under their skins. These claims are not only baseless but also harmful, as they undermine public trust and mislead our stakeholders” the press office said in the release.
“The timing, the nature of the allegations, and the deliberate escalation to media outlets suggest a concerted effort to damage the credibility of a young reform-minded university president who is arguably one of the first to attempt bold administrative overhauls in recent years” the release indicated.
In academic settings, faculty-authored books are often used for instruction. The concern lies in mandating purchase as a registration precondition, which indeed requires review. However, such matters fall under academic policy debate, not criminal indictment—unless proven otherwise through rigorous institutional audit. Dr. Podah, in this regard, should be called to review or reverse the policy through procedural mechanisms—not paraded in public as a criminal.
“It is troubling that Kemakoh Kamara’s moral conscience was dormant during the 6-years administration of the CDC, when instructors at LCU faced chronic salary disparities, and were forced into repeated go-slows. These disruptions were never publicly challenged by Kemakoh Kamara, nor were complaints filed with the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC). His sudden emergence as an anti-corruption crusader now that a Unity Party-aligned president is at the helm is a classic case of selective morality fueled by political realignment” the release said.
