University of Jos (UNIJOS) has dissociated itself from a statement by a group linking it with the controversy surrounding the reconstruction of Jos Main market.

The Deputy Registrar, Information and Publication, Abdullahi Abdullahi, stated, yesterday, that the institution, while recognising the legitimate right of any group to express its grievances against any government policy or action, believes that the representatives of the group should have appended their signatures on the document to take full ownership of its contents.

The statement reads, “The attention of management of UNIJOS has been drawn to a press release issued purportedly by a group of youths claiming to be under the auspices of some ethnic nationalities in Plateau State, in collaboration with what they termed as ‘Plateau Daughters in the University of Jos’ expressing their dissatisfaction with the Memorandum of Understanding brokered between the state government and Jaiz Bank on the reconstruction of the Jos Main Market.

“As a federal institution, management of the university is constrained to make certain clarifications, given that the name of the institution was appropriated in the aforementioned press release, which, for all intents and purposes, is not known to be a duly registered group in UNIJOS and whose activities have not been seen or heard of in the university before now.”

The management, therefore, dissociated itself from the publication and advised any group with any grievance to air it accordingly but without recourse to the use of the name and brand of the university to confer legitimacy on its status and actions.