The University of Cape Coast (UCC) is on the brink of a leadership crisis due to conflicting statements about the status of Vice Chancellor Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong. The University’s Public Affairs Director, Major Kofi Baah-Bentum (Rtd.), has asserted that the Vice Chancellor’s appointment has not been terminated, contradicting an earlier announcement by University Council Chair Prof. Harold S. Amonoo-Kuofi, who declared the termination of Prof. Boampong’s appointment.
Major Baah-Bentum has urged the university community and the public to disregard the Council Chair’s claim, stating that the University Council has not convened to discuss the Vice Chancellor’s tenure.
In a related development, the University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (UTAG) UCC Branch has also rejected the Council Chair’s decision to terminate Prof. Boampong’s appointment. In a swift response, UTAG-UCC insisted that the Council, which renewed Prof. Boampong’s appointment, was duly constituted and complied with all legal requirements, challenging the legality of the termination letter.
“The decision was made following all required procedures and in compliance with the University’s Statutes. On this basis, the action of the Council Chair is arbitrary, capricious, and devoid of any legal justification. We reject it outrightly,” stated UTAG’s letter, signed by its President and Secretary.
UTAG-UCC expressed outrage that the Council Chair issued such a letter while the matter is pending in court. They demanded the immediate withdrawal of the termination letter and urged the government to remove Prof. Harold S. Amonoo-Kuofi from his position as Council Chair.
In a letter dated July 31, the University Council Chair announced the revocation of Prof. Boampong’s appointment, barring him from continuing in his role. The Council Chair argued that the process leading to the two-year extension of Prof. Boampong’s appointment was flawed, as it did not adhere to the University’s Statutes on renewing and appointing Vice Chancellors. Additionally, the Council claimed that the reappointment violated the 1992 Constitution’s provisions on mandatory retirement for public officers.
Other key parties, including the Vice Chancellor and some members of the University Council identifying as Concerned Members of the University of Cape Coast Governing Council, have issued separate statements strongly disagreeing with the Council Chair’s decision, accusing him of taking a unilateral action. The Vice Chancellor, in his letter, stated he would continue to hold himself as the Vice Chancellor.
Meanwhile, sources from The High Street Journal suggest that at the center of the crisis is a turf war between the Council Chair and the Vice Chancellor, who are allegedly aligned with the current Minister of Education Dr. Yaw Adutwum and his predecessor, NPP running mate Dr. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh, respectively.
