Grand Bassa County – The Board of Trustees of the Grand Bassa Community College (GBCC) headed by Joseph T. Isaac announced during a press conference in Buchanan the suspension of the college newly appointed President, Dr. Nathaniel Gbassaygee.
During the press conference held in the office of the county superintendent on November 17, Mr. Isaac and Senator Jonathan Lambert Kaipay disclosed that Dr. Gbassaygee has been suspended for six months.
“By Monday (November 20) there will be an interim President to run the college,” Mr. Isaac said on behalf of the board.
The decision, he said, was due to “administrative and financial problems that need to be settled within the six-month period.”
“We need to put some systems into place before calling Dr. Nathaniel Gbassaygee back to the college,” he said.
“This college needs to move forward and if the college is to move forward, there should be systems put into place.”
Members of the county legislative caucus and superintendent Joseph Levi Demmah expressed unanimous confidence in the board’s decision and said they are “willing to work with the board to keep the college moving forward”.
Dr. Gbassaygee was appointed five months ago by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf replacing Madam Augurine Herring, who served as interim President for over nine months after the sacking of Dr. Levi Zangai.
Before the board’s move to suspend him, Dr. Gbassaygee came under pressure to layoff 44 persons he hired to work for the college. But he refused.
The wife of Dr. Gbassaygee was amongst those recruited.
Employees of GBBCC told FrontPage Africa, he should have respected the board’s decision.
Sources within the college say the board was infuriated because he didn’t seek their consent before recruiting additional employees.
The college already had 98 workers before 44 were added, something the board describes as “over staffing the college”.
Financial crisis has often rocked the only tertiary learning institution in the county causing delays in paying staffs’ salaries and frequent go-slow actions by teachers that consequently prompted protests by students.
In a recent press conference, the suspended GBCC President told journalists that he opened additional offices for the “smooth operation of the college”.
Dr. Gbassaygee is yet to respond to inquiry from local journalists following the board’s recent decision against him.
Report By Elton Wrionbee Tiah, FPA Contributor