THE governance dispute at the Fiji National University (FNU) has deepened after council chairman Semesa Karavaki was yesterday afternoon barred from entering the university’s Nasinu campus.
He condemned the act as “insubordination” and comparable to a coup.
The latest incident highlights the deteriorating relationship between the university council, the FNU management, and the Government.
Mr Karavaki, who arrived at the campus to inquire about a scheduled council meeting after his phone calls to the secretariat went unanswered, was stopped by security personnel.
Mr Karavaki was refused entry to the council chamber yesterday afternoon, describing it as similar to a coup.
Confused and frustrated at what developed at the FNU campus in Nasinu, Mr Karavaki said whoever gave such a directive was wrong.
“When I got there, the security officers told me that I was not allowed into the office, and when I enquired with other officials, they said they were following orders,” he said.
“This is like a coup. We will have our council meeting tomorrow (today), as I have not cancelled it, and we only take our orders from the Ministry of Education by law.
“We will discuss our next course of action, and we have three options to choose from.”
He described the FNU Vice-Chancellor Unaisi Baba as a servant of the council, to do work for the council.
“That’s why the council appointed her.”
Questions sent yesterday to Mrs Baba and Acting Prime Minister Filimoni Vosarogo remained unanswered.
Mr Karavaki said they had considered sending Mrs Baba on leave to allow for investigations on allegations made against her.
“The second one is to report it to the police department or to FICAC, and this is for some issues that had been uncovered during our internal investigation.
“And the third one is the one that we actually decided, because I had to convince the council, and to send her immediately on leave.”
