Police Grab Ex-NUGS Officers

The Ministries police last Saturday arrested two former officers of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) for refusing to hand over the union�s properties in their possession. Ahmed Benni, former Education and Democratisation Officer and out-gone Coordinating Secretary Patrick Ayitah were picked at different locations and put behind bars after a complaint was lodged to the police on the state of the union�s assets they were holding on to. Ahmed Benni was said to have forcibly collected keys to the NUGS vehicle from the official driver and rove it to an unknown destination. On the part of Patrick Ayitah, police said he was being trailed for locking the offices of the Union at the State Housing Corporation, thereby refusing the new executives access to the union�s official documents. The duo spent close to three hours at the police station last Saturday before being granted bail through the help of some friends and relatives. Police said on Saturday that the out-gone student officers were given up to 2pm Monday 28th September, 2008 to produce the union�s assets in their possession. They said that failure from the student leaders will result in their prosecution. Patrick and Benni were alleged to be part of a faction that frustrated out-gone President Ishmael Tweneboah from successfully running the affairs of the union. Ishmael, according to sources, was seen by the group as an NDC sympathizer who frustrated any kind of agenda to favour the NPP. The group recently tried to prevent the holding of a handing-over ceremony at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) but did not succeed when the Tesano police were called in to keep it at bay. After the handing-over, members of the dissident group were still bent on their activities as they tired to hold a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting to overthrow Ishmael Tweneboah who had already handed over to a new administration under the leadership of Wonder Madilo. This reporter gathered that the purported NEC meeting did not come off as most of the appropriate representatives under the union boycotted it. The group has been livid with anger following the defeat of some candidates it allegedly had preference for at the Kumasi congress. NUGS President Wonder Madilo told newsmen via telephone that the development had frustrated new executives from undertaking their constitutional duties. He disclosed that under normal circumstances, the NUGS official vehicle should be parked at the premises of the Ministry of Education since it was that government entity that provided the bus and the official driver. As at the time of filing this report, scores of people including new executives had gathered at the Ministries Police Station waiting for the bailed student leaders to hand over the assets of the Union.