The Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) has called for disciplinary action against lecturers of the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana for publishing what they call fake 2020 polls in the name of the university.
At a press conference held at the university on Thursday, the Department said a research conducted by some leading lecturers from the university showed that the President will record a first round victory.
But, reacting to the latest development, ASEPA, in a statement written and signed by its Executive Director, Mensah Thompson, said the University of Ghana’s Political Science Department has not conducted any poll on the 2020 elections.
“The polls being launched today is sole handiwork of one Dr Owusu Mensah who has been contracted to publish a fake poll to hoodwink the public,” part of the statement read.
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According to ASEPA, the situation has angered a lot of the lecturers of the Department who feel the name of the university and for that matter, the Department was being used for personal gains.
Read full statement by ASEPA below:
Press Statement by ASEPA on the Fake University of Ghana Polls by the Political Science Department- ASEPA Calls for Disciplinary Action Against Lecturers Publishing Fake Polls in the Name of UG
ASEPA EXPOSES UNIVERSITY OF GHANA ON FAKE POLLS
We have called you here to demonstrate how some lecturers at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana have connived to launch fake polls clearly aimed at influencing the outcome of the 2020 Elections.
First of all, we want to State Categorically that the University of Ghana, Political Science Department has NOT conducted any polls on the 2020 elections.
The polls being launched today is sole handiwork of one Dr. Owusu Mensah who has been contracted to publish a fake polls to hoodwink the public.
Earlier this month, a Facebook post by one Edudzi Tamakloe suggesting that the Department has conducted some polls and was shelving it was brought to the attention of the department.
The department agreed to issue a rebuttal or disclaimer which was drafted.
The disclaimer was given to the Head of Department to issue on behalf of the department. The Disclaimer stated categorically that the Department has NOT conducted any polls this year.
The Head of Department failed to publish this rebuttal which had been agreed upon by the entire members of the Department and the letter drafted was on the 1st of November,2020.
Only for the same head of department who had written and signed those rebuttals to on the 24th November issue an invitation to members of the department that a survey has been conducted on the 2020 elections and they are invited to participate in the dissemination of the information.
This situation has seriously angered a lot of the lecturers of the department who feel the name of the University and for that matter, the department was being used for personal gains!
It is important to bring these issues currently happening at the Department of Political Science at the University of Ghana to the attention of the Media and for that matter the public because it borders on the integrity of the premier University of this country.
That individual members of the university can initiate research activity in a private capacity and want to hang the results in the name of the university.
Secondly, which serious academic institution would decide to publish a poll at this critical hour leading to a major election?
We believe that these actions by Dr Owusu Mensah and the Head of Department of the Political Science Department cannot go unpunished for attempting to bring the name of the university into public ridicule.
We demand that University Disciplinary Committee Commences immediate investigations into this matter and sanction lecturers who may be found complicit in this brute attempt to defraud the public.
We also preparing to petition the Criminal Investigations Department to launch criminal investigations into the matter since it is a classic case of Academic Fraud perpetuated by these lecturers.