Vincent Ujumadu
9 June 2000
Lagos — There are indications that former student cultists who renounced their membership in the wake of the federal government's directive to heads of tertiary institutions in the country to eliminate cultism in their institutions have re-joined the dreaded groups.
Rector of Abia state Polytechnic, Aba, Dr. Chijioke Odumuko who made this known told news men that many students who publicly renounced membership of cults during the institution's anti-cult rallies have gone back to it.
He said: "We have identified many of them to be those who openly declared that they would have nothing to do with cults again. It shows they did not renounce it whole heartedly."
Odumuko, who described the situation as disturbing, explained that those identified have been directed to bring their parents and another well- known persons in the society "for us to discuss the registration of their wards again," adding that those who are unable to meet the condition would have to leave the institution eventually.
He said that the authorities decided to adopt a system of counselling rather than threaten the affected students. According to him, it would be more dangerous to expel them as they would be operating from outside.
Meanwhile, the Rector has said that about 1000 students would be graduating at the institution's second convocation ceremony taking place on Saturday.
During the ceremony, Odumuko said that the state Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu would be installed as the Visitor to the polytechnic.
He regretted the poor funding of the polytechnic over the years, saying however that there are positive signs that Governor Kalu is bent on developing the institution to an enviable standard.
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