The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Gombe State University (GSU) chapter, has criticised the state governor, Inuwa Yahaya, and the university’s governing council for appointing Professor Sani Ahmed Yauta as acting vice chancellor instead of a substantive one.
Addressing journalists yesterday, the chairperson of the union in the university, Suleiman Salihu Jauro, said the university laws require the governing council to nominate three candidates from within the university and forward them to the governor for final selection.
He said the council however announced an acting VC since October 2025 rather than appointing one of the recommended candidates as substantive VC.
“The law also provides that the governing council shall send 3 nominees to the visitor who is to appoint one person from the nominees as a Vice Chancellor.
“As against the expected decision of the government to appoint one of the 3 recommended applicants as the substantive vice chancellor of the university, the governing council in rather melodramatic manner announced the appointment of an acting vice chancellor for the university on 16th October 2024,” he lamented.
The union expressed concerns that the governing council’s tenure will soon expire without completing the nomination process for a substantive VC adding that despite writing to the governor, the issue remains unaddressed.
The union urged traditional rulers to intervene and prevail upon the government to revisit the council’s earlier recommendation and appoint a suitable candidate as substantive VC to avoid exacerbating the governance crisis in the university.