Prof Agwu Ekwe has assumed control of the Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, after weeks of protests and union resistance that paralysed academic activities at the institution, with soldiers, police officers, and Department of State Services operatives escorting him onto campus following the forced opening of a locked entrance gate.

The crisis began after staff unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Colleges of Agriculture and the Joint Action Unions, rejected Ekwe's appointment on 10 April 2026, describing it as irregular and inconsistent with established procedures for appointing a substantive provost. The unions subsequently locked the school gate and the provost's office, preventing the acting provost, Dr Jonah Nwawuisi, from conducting a handover.

Chairman of the Joint Union Action, Dr ThankGod Nwaneri, disclosed that the situation had left staff in a state of confusion, with two individuals simultaneously issuing instructions as provost.

"Before now, we had an acting provost in the person of Dr Jonah Nwawuisi. This is an illegal appointment that was done on the 10th of April, 2026, when they appointed one Prof Ekwe. As a matter of fact, we do not know the actual provost for now because yesterday, two different persons gave me instructions as the provost, and I disregarded the instructions because I don't know which one to follow," Nwaneri revealed.

He further noted that qualified candidates who applied for the position had not been invited for written or oral interviews since submitting their applications.

The standoff was resolved when Nwawuisi complied with what sources described as a Federal Government directive and formally handed over to Ekwe on Tuesday, 14 April 2026.

National President of ASUCA, Dr Kadurumba Chukwuemeka, confirmed that the unions stood down following the arrival of security agencies.

"The acting provost, Dr Nwawuisi, has handed over to the new provost, and he cannot say no to it because it is a Federal Government directive. The new provost came in with soldiers, policemen, DSS officials, and I told the joint union officials not to resist him or fight, and they should be civil. So, the unions allowed the security agencies to break the gate, and the new provost entered the college and addressed those he saw in the college," Chukwuemeka stated.

Ekwe subsequently addressed staff and students and assumed full administrative control of the institution under tight security.