Chancellors of 12 federal universities established
by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
Also affected by the sack is the Vice Chancellor
of the National Open University of Nigeria, Prof.
Vincent Tenebe.
In the statement announcing the sack, the
government gave no reason for the action.
A short statement by the Minister of Education,
Adamu Adamu in Abuja, on Saturday, simply said
President Muhammadu Buhari, had approved the
appointment of new Vice Chancellors for the
Universities.
But the decision is already generating ripples,
with some members of the intelligentsia claiming
that it is only the Governing Council of NOUN of
which Mr Tenebe is a member, that could only
remove him.
A human rights organisation, Coalition of Civil
Society Groups has protested against the sack in
a letter to Buhari, demanding the reversal of the
decision in which the NOUN VC was replaced
with Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu of the Department
of Mass Communication, Bayero University,
Kano.
The substantive Vice Chancellor of the Federal
University, Dutse, Jigawa State, Prof. Mohammed
Kundiri, was transferred to the Federal
University, Wukari, Taraba State.
The CCSG in its protest letter to Buhari signed by
its President, Etuk Bassey Williams and
Secretary-General, Ibrahim Abubakar, said the
action contravenes 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 said that four out of the twelve
appointed VCs are from Kano University, 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”,
tcoalition said.
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.
The group said, “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, Prof. 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 Prof. Auwal Yadudu of the Faculty of
Law, Bayero University, Kano as its new VC;
Prof. 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, Prof. Haruna
Abdu Kaita is the new VC of Federal University,
Dutsin Ma, Katsina State, while Prof. Andrew
Haruna of the Department of Linguistics,
University of Jos will now function as VC,
Federal University, Gashua, Yobe State.
While another lecturer in the Department of
Pharmacy, ABU, Zaria, Prof. Magaji Garba, will
now be VC in Federal University, Gusau, Zamfara
State, Prof. Alhassan Mohammed Gani of the
Institute of Maritime Studies, Federal University,
Kashere in Gombe State has been elevated to
the position of VC in same University.
A lecturer in the Department of Physics, Federal
University, Lafia, Prof. Muhammad Sanusi Liman
will henceforth be VC of same institution.
For Prof. 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 Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba of the Post-
Graduate School, Imo State University, Owerri, as
its VC, while Prof. 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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