By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
Principal of the School of Nursing, Edjeba, Warri, Delta State, Dr Timothy Ogaga, on Monday, declared publicly that he’s a member of the popular Pirates Confraternity.
Pastor Edewor addressing journalists
The School of Nursing, Edjeba, Warri, where the alumnus of the University of Nigeria, Nnsuka (UNN) superintendents, is located in Warri South Local Government Area of the state.
Ogaga made the declaration at his office when members of the Delta State Human Rights Protection Congress, a coalition of all human rights groups in the state, sought his audience to clarify some allegations against his management in recent times.
Stonix News gathered that some parents and their wards, who are students of the school, had complained over alleged extortions (including collection of Valentine Day levy), intimidation and overcrowding in the hostel among other thorny anti-people policies of the school management.
A teacher (names withheld) of the school also alleged that Dr Ogaga often flaunts his membership of the Confraternity to possibly intimidate other staff and students when some of his decisions are called to scrutiny.
School Of Nursing Edjeba Warri
Based on the allegations, members of the Human Rights Coalition visited the school to ascertain things for themselves before making it a public discourse.
Leading the Human Rights delegation were a patron of the Human Rights coalition, Pastor Egedegbe Edewor and Comrade Kelvin Egumudo.
They narrated their mission to the school and requested a factual evidence of Dr Ogaga’s claims that the allegations were spurious.
“Our students are subjected to some monthly extortions of money to fuel the facilities; where there’s supposed to be four persons in a room, they are putting 10 to 12 students.
“They threaten them when they refused to pay and their parents are afraid to speak up.
“Students were also asked to pay some money for the last Valentine Day.
Pastor Egedegbe Edewor and Comrade Kelvin Egumudo
“Besides, the school is not meeting up with the required standards,” Comrade Egumudo had laid bare on behalf of the comrades.
Responding, Dr Ogaga, debunked the allegations and initially agreed to prove this by leading the comrades to verify his claims at the school hostel.
He said being a member of Pirates Confraternity, which, he said, was known for discipline, he wouldn’t subject his ‘children’ to such frivolous levies outside the stipulated fees by the government.
“I’m a member of a disciplined organisation, the Pirates Confraternity. I got such allegation sometimes ago.
“No room accommodates more than six or seven students. We’ve even made bunks with mattresses for the students.
“We’ve an attachment we’re about to complete to further make the place conducive.
“At my age, I’ll be collecting money for Valentine Day? It is not true. No money is paid everyday or every month except statutory fees. They pay exams money. They don’t pay school fees,” he noted.
Dr Ogaga, in spite of his earlier pledged to lead the comrades to the hostel to confirm his refutation of overcrowding, however, reneged after having a a phone conversation with a member of the Delta House of Assembly, Hon. Augustine Uroye, who’s the chairman, House Committee on Health.
Hon. Uroye, after speaking with Dr Ogaga on phone, told Pastor Edewor on phone that unless the Commissioner for Health gave the approval, the coalition would be debarred from gaining access to the hostel facility.
Reacting to Dr Ogaga’s sudden afterthought after receiving the directive from Hon. Uroye, Pastor Edewor and Comrade Egumudo said it was clear that most of the allegations were tenable given the clandestine dispositions of the House of Assembly member and the school authority.
“There were tendencies that could suggest that something is really amiss, but because we are in a government that the plight of the people does not matter to, that’s why people could scheme things the way they want,” Pastor Edewor posited.
They expressed disappointment at the unsolicited intrusion of Hon Uroye, but vowed to press the issues further in order to get to the root of all the allegations.
“We are not done yet, so we are still pressing on. We are coming back and we will also make our fact-findings known to the public.
“We will have an interface with the Commissioner of Health, Delta State, under which this institution is situated and also the House Committee Chairman on Health in the Delta State House of Assembly,” Pastor Edewor further reiterated.
