chancellors of 12 federal universities that
were established by the administration of
ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, and gave
no reason for the action. Their sack,
contained in a short statement signed by the
minister of Education, Mallam Adamu
Adamu and obtained by journalists on
Saturday in Abuja simply said President
Muahammadu Buhari, has approved the
appointment of new vice chancellors for the
universities.
Also affected by the sack is the vice
chancellors of National Open University of
Nigeria, Professor Vincent Tenebe, however,
some members of the intelligentsia are of
the opinion that it is only the Governing
Council of NOUN of which Tenebe is a
member, that could only remove him.
Civil society organisation, under the aegis of
Coalition of Civil Society Groups, CCSG, has
protested against the sack. In a letter to
President Buhari, they demanded the
reversal of the decision in which the NOUN
VC was replaced with Professor Abdalla Uba
Adamu of the Department of Mass
Communication, Bayero University, Kano.
The substantive vice chancellor of the
Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State,
Professor Mohammed Kundiri, was,
however, transferred to the Federal
University, Wukari, Taraba State.
The CCSG in its protest letter to the
president, signed by its President, Etuk
Bassey Williams and secretary-general,
Ibrahim Abubakar, said the action
contravened the provisions of the
Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act
No.11 of 1993 (as amended) by Decree
No.25, 1996 and further amended in 2003
and 2012 respectively and other agreements
as contained in the 2009 FGN staff union
agreement.
The petitioners noted that four out of the 12
vice chancellors, appointed by the president
are from Bayero University, Kano, an action
they said, was a clear violation of the
federal character principle.
“While this does not come as a surprise
owing to the influence of one of the special
advisers to the minister of Education in
orchestrating the appointments of his
friends and cronies without following due
process, we are however concerned about
the constitutional breach and the resultant
litigation battle this action may cause, which
in turn may generate unnecessary
distractions to your focused administration”,
the coalition told the president.
The petition reads, “We are compelled to call
your attention owing to the illegality in the
removal of vice chancellors of 13 federal
universities, including the National Open
University of Nigeria and the hasty
appointment of friends and cronies in place
of those, illegally removed from office.
“While we are not unmindful of the fact that
you would have acted on the
recommendation of the minister of
Education in approving their removal, it is
pertinent to know that in the pursuit of
ambition, driven by unguided passion and
greed, impunity becomes inevitable as the
end irrespective of the means is all that
matters and in this case, the removal of
these vice chancellors is the outcome of an
unguided passion and greed by the minister
of Education and his special adviser.
“The constitution is quite clear on the
procedures to be followed in the
appointment and disengagement of vice
chancellors and none of these procedures
were followed in the above case. The
appointment of vice chancellors is a tenured
appointment, which presupposes that every
appointee is expected to serve the
prescribed number of years as stipulated by
the Acts governing the institutions.
The organisation regretted that none of the
vice chancellors were allowed to complete
their tenures and were all removed without
following due process of the law. The CCSG
said that in the event that a vice chancellor
was to be removed from office before the
expiration of his tenure, it is the Board of the
Governing Council that is empowered to
recommend or effect that removal of an
erring vice chancellor before the completion
of his term in office.
According to the group, “In the above case,
the minister already dissolved the Board of
the Governing Council with the statutory
powers to recommend or effect the removal
of a Vice chancellor from office, thereby
making the removal of these vice
chancellors illegal, null and void.
“In appointing new vice chancellors or any
public officer for that matter, it is an offence
and a breach of the Federal Character
principle for one third of the total appointees
to come from a particular state.
“The action of the minister is greeted with
sadness as it is considered a breach of the
provisions of the University Amendment Act
or legislation and to a large extent a gross
violation of the laws of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria which guarantees universities
autonomy in Nigeria.”
According to the public statement conveying
the sack of the VCs, a former head,
Department of International Relations at the
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife,
Professor Kayode Soremekun, who was said
to be on sabbatical in NOUN is the new vice
chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-
Ekiti, Ekiti State.
While the Federal University, Birnin Kebbi,
Kebbi State has Professor Auwal Yadudu of
the Faculty of Law, Bayero University, Kano
as its new VC; Professor Fatima Batoul
Muktar of the Department of Biology, North
West University, Kano is the VC of Federal
University, Dutse, Jigawa State.
A lecturer in the Department of Pharmacy,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor
Haruna Abdu Kaita is the new VC of Federal
University, Dutsin Ma, Katsina State, while
Professor Andrew Haruna of the
Department of Linguistics, University of Jos
will now function as VC, Federal University,
Gashua, Yobe State.
Another lecturer in the Department of
Pharmacy, ABU, Zaria, Professor Magaji
Garba, will now be VC in Federal University,
Gusau, Zamfara State, Professor Alhassan
Mohammed Gani of the Institute of Maritime
Studies, Federal University, Kashere ,
Gombe State has been elevated to the
position of VC in same University.
A lecturer in the Department of Physics,
Federal University, Lafia, Professor
Muhammad Sanusi Liman will henceforth be
VC of same institution.
For Professor Angela Freeman Miri of the
Linguistics Department, UNIJOS, her new
portfolio is the Federal University, Lokoja
where she will now be VC.
The Federal University, Ndifu-Alike, Ebonyi
State now has Professor Chinedum
Nwajiuba of the Post-Graduate School, Imo
State University, Owerri as its VC, while
Professor Seth Accra Jaja of the
Department of Management, University of
Port Harcourt is now the VC of Federal
University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State.
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