SANNIQUELLIE, Nimba – After initially writing to the Nimba County Legislative Caucus to express a lack of confidence in the leadership of the Nimba County Community College’s president Yar Gono, the college’s faculty has rewritten to lawmakers to overturn its previous “Vote of No Confidence.”

The Faculty Association now says it is willing to work with Gono, provided that a nine-count resolution is met “to safeguard our co-existence and smooth operations of Nimba County Community College.”

The college’s faculty has had prolonged issues with the administration, particularly over delayed salaries, leading members to resolve to not work with the administration of Gono. The move to reconsider their decision was prompted by intervention from Rep. Dorwon Gleekia of Nimba’s sixth district and Rep. Roger Domah of the seventh district. The lawmakers called on the faculty to drop their demands in the interest of the institution.

Faculty members initially wrote to the caucus on June 18, noting many issues they had with Gono’s rule.

“Over the past six years, we have observed Dr. Gono’s leadership style to be characterized by self-interest, egotism, and personalization of the college to the extent of claiming that she is the founder of the college,” the letter said, listing in details the various concerns.

The communication also said the internal auditor of the college had been sidelined from reviewing and verifying all financial transactions before they are approved by Gono, thereby making the need for an internal auditor irrelevant.

The faculty also noted that the vice president for administration is not a signatory to any of the college’s bank statements, bank account, payroll, nor has access to any major financial documents.

The four-page document was signed by four officials of the Faculty Association, including Nathan S. Gono, its chair.

The new agreement between the Faculty Association and Gono, and brokered by the lawmakers, proposed ways to move forward with each of the issues of contention.

Included in the new resolutions is a pledge to increase faculty salaries by 25 percent in the 2018/2019 fiscal year and to ensure that salaries were commensurate with qualifications. There was also a resolution to ensure that the internal auditor was much more involved in the financial transactions of the college.

Featured photo by Franklin Nehyalor