The Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) has rejected the advertisement for the institution’s vice chancellorship position.
Recall that the tenure of the incumbent vice chancellor of the university will end in July 2024.
The branch chairman, Nuruddeen Almustapha and the secretary, Shu’aibu Sadiku, in a statement jointly signed, described the federal government’s decision to cancel the miscellaneous provisions in the university system as undermining the principles of transparency, equity and merit-based selection of university principal officers.
According to the union, the National Universities Commission’s arbitrary dissolution of the university’s governing council and all federal university governing councils in June 2023 undermined the institutions’ established procedures and autonomy.
Available reports showed that attempts were being made by some outgoing vice chancellors of federal universities to catch-in on the absence of their universities’ governing councils to impose their stooges as “acting vice chancellors” so as to cover a plethora of baggage of the outgoing ones.
“Unauthorised advertisement of vacancies for the offices of the vice chancellors and other principal officers in federal universities also violates proper procedures and threatens the integrity and academic freedom of Nigeria’s public universities.
“It has flagrantly violated section III, subsections I and II of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993,” the union said.
The union explained that university law distinctly delineates the governing councils’ composition, roles and dissolution procedures.
It also prescribes the protocol in the event of the council’s absence, particularly regarding the appointment of principal officers. At no point does the law transfer the council’s functions to the minister or the visitor.
According to the union, “ASUU-UDUS urgently calls on President Bola Tunubu, the minister of education, and other critical stakeholders to, as a matter of urgency and necessity, reconstitute the governing councils of public universities.
“This step is crucial for universities to operate legally and smoothly, aligning with the provisions of the law. It will uphold the autonomy and independence of universities by adhering to established procedures and safeguarding their integrity.
“Investigate all manners of violations of the Law in the recent actions taken by various universities in the absence of the government councils.”
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