Heads to roll as FG probes alleged promotion of 34 unqualified professors
The Federal Government recently received numerous allegations of wrongdoing against the councils and management of some universities and polytechnics. The allegations which range from abuse of due process, misappropriation, partiality in staff recruitment and promotions to sexual harassment, were brought forth by union leaders, parents, aggrieved parties and other stakeholders.
The government responded to the complaints by setting up 10 committees to probe the veracity of the allegations or otherwise in 10 institutions.
Minister of Education Malam Adamu Adamu who inaugurated the committees in Abuja said the fact-finding panels will not witch-hunt anyone but advise government on the way forward.
He said the committees may face challenges associated with handling the allegations against the institutions but urged them to be resolute.
Most of the officials in the institutions were said to have helped themselves from monies meant for projects and conducted employments and promotions egoistically. Those found guilty will have themselves to blame, the minister said.
The institutions include the Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State; Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State; University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State; Federal University Kashere, Gombe State; University of Abuja, FCT; and University of Nsukka, Enugu State.
Others are Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State; Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State; Yaba College of Technology, Lagos State; and University of Calabar, Cross River State.
The minister said the allegations and counter claims against the institutions “have created mistrust and hostility and hindered the smooth conduct of academic activities to the detriment of students. Obviously this cannot continue and it must not be allowed to linger.
“The allegations include: financial misappropriation, disregard of due process, nepotism and irregularities in recruitment and promotion of staff, corruption, power tussle among council members, sexual harassment and fraud to mention but a few,” he said.
The most talked about allegations are those against the Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State and Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUA), Abia State.
A group, Concerned Katsina Citizens has asked the federal government to review all recruitments in the Federal University Dutsin-Ma over allegations of bias. The group’s chairman, Mustapha Mamman, said in a letter that “the federal government must as a matter of urgency wade into the issues of lopsidedness in employments in the university to avoid problems in the state.”
The letter said more people were employed from certain areas deliberately while some areas were marginalised.
The group also alleged partiality in admissions, saying candidates from the university’s catchment area “are denied their right to get admission and study in the university.”
The Vice Chancellor, Professor James Ayatse, said the allegations were baseless as due process was followed in staff employment.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had issued a statement saying that 34 academics recently promoted to professors at the MOUA, Abia State did not have the required qualifications.
The union said that most of the new professors do not have research and teaching experience and years expected for post PhD qualification.
It accused the Vice Chancellor, Professor Hilary Edeoga, of allegedly jettisoning the yardsticks in the selection processes.
The statement, signed by ASUU Calabar Zone Coordinator, Dr Nsing Ogar and six other coordinators at the University of Calabar, Cross River University of Technology, Abia State University, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State University and Ebonyi State University, said those promoted were supposed to have years of advanced studies and must also have submitted their publications and academic work. It said: “In 2015, the administration of Professor Edeoga promoted 34 academics to the rank of professors, 30 of whom did not fulfill the mandatory requirements for such promotions, not even the standards set by the university itself.”
In another statement, signed by Professor Nanmwa Voncir of the ASUU branch of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), the union said “both staff and students of MOUA are victims of the reckless and mind-boggling atrocities of the vice chancellor,” adding that “for example, first year students of the university in the 2014/2015 academic session were forced to pay N60,800 per bed space.”
The union also alleged that appointments and promotions were done on ‘primordial sentiments.’
In a swift reaction, however, Professor Edeoga said ,”No vice chancellor can appoint a professor; there are laid down procedures, the university followed all the laid down procedures before any professor was appointed, can you imagine a university with less than 8,000 students but today can boast of 30,000 students. Definitely, there will be corresponding increase in staff strength.
“When I came on board, the university had less than 100 PhD holders, today, we have more than 400 PhD lecturers. When I came on board, the university had less than 50 professors, but today we have more than 100. Academic programmes have been enhanced and expanded. Before I came, we had less than 35 departments, but today we can boast of more than 50,” he said.
He said students hitherto faced acute accommodation challenges with only two hostels, adding that “to frontally address the challenge of accommodation, we built 10 hostels worth N1.5 billion within one year with internally generated revenue.”