Professor Mike Ocquaye
There appears to be uneasy calm in the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Effutu Constituency in the Central Region over plans that the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) is to confer an honorary doctorate degree on the Speaker of Parliament.
The NPP members and a group of dismissed workers of the university are angry over the decision because they claim the issues surrounding those who are planning for the award are in court bordering on alleged human rights violations and undue victimization.
The dismissed workers are appealing passionately to the Speaker, Professor Mike Ocquaye, not to ‘accept’ the honorary reward because they claim the case is yet to be determined and he will ‘soil’ his reputation as an astute politician and academician if he goes ahead for it.
According to the group, agreeing to be given an honorary degree from the university at a time the management has been dragged to court over claims of human right violations and victimization would not be good for the respected Speaker.
They said the Speaker had achieved so much in academia and politics and might not need any further accolades, especially coming from a university head whose ‘legitimacy’ is being challenged in court.
The NPP group members are claiming that those planning the award for the Speaker are allegedly working against the interest of the party in the constituency and that might motivate them to push harder for the party as Election 2020 draws near.
There has been some bad-blood between the NPP in the constituency on one hand and Vice Chancellor Prof. Afful-Broni and some members of his team on the other hand.
Indeed, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, NPP Member of Parliament for Effutu, where the university is located, has not hidden his displeasure at the administration of Prof. Afful-Broni, whom he has publicly accused of betraying the cause of the Effutu people.
Already, the official website of the university has quoted the Speaker as saying he was looking forward to accepting the honorary award.
“It will be a great joy to have a special occasion like that to come and receive an honorary doctorate degree. It is nice to work for a doctorate degree but it is also nice for one to be bestowed upon you. So, we look forward to the appropriate day and we trust that we will have a very good useful time at a convocation of that nature,” the Speaker reportedly said.