- KEY POINTS
- UNIABUJA vice chancellor selection process thrown under the bus as allegations of manipulation surface.
- However, ASUU monitors the situation and fears that someone may breach the required standards.
- Registrar ensures complaints will be addressed and transparency is kept.
The University of Abuja, UNIABUJA, faces criticism for manipulating the selection process for a new Vice Chancellor and lowering qualification standards.
The institution’s Governing Council has experienced tensions, with some members calling for a relaxed process to favor a particular candidate and others arguing the process should follow federal standards.
Disagreements arose at the last Governing Council meeting over the removal of a vital condition, 10 years of post professorial experience required by the Federal Ministry of Education, for candidates wanting the job.
The Council did not include this requirement in its August advertisement for applications, causing the controversy.
Process being closely monitored by ASUU and stakeholders
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the federal government of unleashing terror on the Nigerian people. The National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke admitted that the union is aware of the ongoing battle, but has no official complaint of manipulation lodged with the union from anybody.
“We think it’s monitoring closely, we said the process has to meet the required standards,” Osodeke said.
The university, under the former Vice Chancellor, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah, had also in March 2024 advertised for a new vice chancellor, before the professor’s tenure expired.
But the advertisement, re-issued in August by the agency’s new Governing Council, failed to mention the 10 years of work experience after the professorial position.
Na’Allah’s tenure ended on July 1, 2024, while Prof. Aisha Maikudi, appointed a professor in 2022, became the Acting Vice Chancellor.
Complaints aside, registrar assures transparency
UNIABUJA Registrar and Governing Council Secretary Mallam Yahya Mohammed, while speaking on the situation, acknowledged complaints made by stakeholders concerning the selection process.
He said the Council is as yet to make any significant progress in the selection of the next Vice Chancellor, as it is still reviewing applications.
“We know about the complaints,” the Council says. Instead, we are working to deal with it in a transparent and sensitive way to stakeholders’ concerns,” Mohammed said. He dismissed claims of favoritism and said that the university has never compromised its integrity.
According to Vanguard, At press time, journalists called and messaged the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, the Acting VC, Prof. Aisha Maikudi, and the Chairman of the Governing Council, AVM Ismaila Kaita, to obtain their comments on the development, but they did not respond.
The university community and stakeholders have continued to await the outcome of the process, with several demands for adherence of federal standards in the selection of the new vice Chancellor, stating that the process has to be fair and credible.
