UniAbuja VC Appointment Saga: Council Members Write Nigerian Education Minister, Demand Intervention Over 'Irregularities In Selection Process'

The University of Abuja is facing a looming crisis over the selection of its substantive vice-chancellor, with government-appointed members of the Governing Council from the South East and South West expressing concerns.

In a letter to the Minister of Education, the Council members Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye - South West and Mrs. Chisom Dorcas Obih – South East, warned that the situation could lead to litigation, crises, and embarrassment to the Governing Council and the Nigerian university system if not addressed.

The petitioners noted that despite the federal character principle being adhered to in the composition of the external members of the Council, none of the three external members, including the chairman of the selection board, are from the South.

They also alleged that Mrs. Obih and Prof. Akinfeleye were deliberately assigned roles that would prevent them from serving on the selection board.

The letter, titled, "A Minority Report on the ongoing Vice-Chancellorship Selection Process at the University of Abuja," was addressed to the Minister of Education and copied to President Bola Tinubu, Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, and other relevant authorities.

The University is embroiled in a heated controversy surrounding the appointment of a new vice-chancellor, with accusations flying that the governing council is trying to impose Aisha Maikudi as the new VC despite concerns over her qualifications.

The governing council's alleged attempt to impose Maikudi has raised eyebrows, with sources arguing that she doesn't meet the initial criteria for the position.

The petitioners claim that the criteria for shortlisting applicants were altered without the Council's approval, giving an unfair advantage to a particular candidate.

This tampering allegedly occurred despite the sub-Committee's earlier recommendation, which was approved by the Council on December 14, 2024. As a result, candidates were selected for interviews arbitrarily, without adhering to standard parameters.

This led to a staggering 40 candidates being shortlisted, an unprecedented number in the Nigerian university system. The petitioners argue that this irregular process undermines the integrity of the selection process.

The petition reads, "This is a confirmation of the widespread allegation that Council deliberately lowered the requirements in its second advert to favour a particular candidate. Ideally, each applicant should be scored based on all the eligibility criteria as advertised in the first and second advertisements. The best candidates (maximum of 9 or 10% of total applicants) will thereafter be picked for the interview in the order of merit and based on their cumulative scores."

The aggrieved Council members unequivocally stated that it is not the business of the larger Council whose membership is replete with vested interests to interview the shortlisted candidates.

They warned that anything short of this will render the exercise null and void.

"Council should be guided by the Universities Miscellaneous Act at all times. This item was wrongly listed on the agenda of Council and discussed,” the petitioners said.

"The attempt to impose it on the Selection Board by the Chairman during the Council meeting of Monday 23rd December, 2024 was stoutly opposed by the two duly elected Senate Representatives on the Selection Board. The ensuing altercation resulted in the exit of the two members from the meeting.

"The Chairman thereafter directed the Ag. Vice Chancellor to convey an extraordinary meeting of Senate and that Senate should conduct another election in order to replace the two elected representatives who merely insisted on following due process and merit. This meeting has been oddly scheduled to hold today Tuesday 24th December, 2024 at 9.00 a.m."

Alleged Attempts To Stampede Council Into Appointing New VC During Christmas/New Year Break

The Council noted that in the last one week, the Chairman has been stampeding it to wrap up the vice-chancellorship selection exercise during this festive season because of an unconfirmed directive from the Minister of Education.

The petitioners said, "It is most unbelievable that the Governing Council has already scheduled the interview of shortlisted applicants for Friday 27th, Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th of December, 2024.

“There is only one working day between 24th and 27th December, 2024. This is grossly inadequate even for internal applicants resident in Abuja."

They noted that apart from privileged applicants like the Acting Vice-Chancellor, a sitting member of Council who has been participating and influencing Council decisions on this matter and probably a few internal applicants “already slated to be interviewed are yet to be informed as at the time of writing this minority report". 

The Council members for the South described as "preposterous and utterly absurd" to say the least that invitations for an interview scheduled to commence of the 27th of December, 2024 are yet to be released on the 24th”.

They said, "Meanwhile, the 25th and 26th of December have already been declared as public holidays.

"Moreover, there is a need to be mindful of the fact some of the members of Council and a good number of applicants are Christians. Besides, some of the applicants may be based abroad. A few others could have even travelled abroad because of the Christmas/New Year break.

"The justification for this sudden rush, which appears bizarre, beats our imaginations. It appears very strange how a Council that has been unable to appoint a Vice-Chancellor for almost six months, will suddenly wake up and become desperate to complete the exercise within a week."

On the appointment of the Acting Registrar, the Council members noted that the Governing Council was given false information and misled.

The petition noted that the council acted in error when it ratified the appointment of the current Acting Registrar, Mrs Islamiyat Abdulrahim, who happens to be junior in rank to about 10 other Deputy Registrars in the University.

They regretted that in spite of the fact that the Chairman officially acknowledged “this unfortunate and embarrassing development in his recent letter to the Hon. Minister of Education, Council has not deemed it fit to correct this anomaly”.

The petition said, “More worrisome is the fact that for more than six weeks, Council is yet to consider the petition by one of the senior Deputy Registrars, Barrister Abdulaleem Haruna who was bypassed to pave (the) way for his junior.

"His petition dated 06 November, 2024 is yet to be considered up till now. The Chairman promised to look at the petition at the “appropriate time” in his letter to the Honourable Minister. We hope an “appropriate time” will not be after the completion of the ongoing selection exercise.

"Sir, allowing Mrs Islamiyat Abdulrahim to continue to serve as the Secretary to Council and by extension the Secretary of all the statutory committees saddled with the appointments of Principal Officers of the University puts a question mark on the credibility of our processes. It may constitute a fertile ground for a moral cum legal ground to challenge the outcome of Council decisions.

"We submit that Council should immediately consider the petition by Barrister Abdulaleem Haruna and appoint the most senior as well as the most qualified Deputy Registrar as Acting Registrar. It should also be one without any known conflict of interest. Justice delayed is justice denied."

The petitioners noted that the impression is that some vested interests acting a well-prepared script are bent on keeping the current Acting Registrar till the end of the present selection exercise to achieve a pre-determined end.

They described the appointment of the Acting Registrar as “fundamentally flawed ab initio”.

The petitioners said the “Council erred by ratifying the so-called appointment of Mrs Islamiyat Abdulrahim because the Acting Vice-Chancellor flagrantly usurped the powers of Council and unilaterally issued a letter of appointment to Mrs. Islamiyat Abdulrahim”.

“This is patently wrong and a gross abuse of due process. The Governing Council is the body exclusively saddled with the responsibility of appointing the Principal Officers of the University," they added.

They warned that the palpable tension on campus due to the widespread belief that the Governing Council is trying to impose the least qualified applicant on the university would spell unforeseen circumstances.

The petition said, "In fact, the Abuja Branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities held a crucial a meeting on Monday the 23rd of December, 2024. It unanimously admonished the Governing Council on the need to follow due process as far as all the processes leading to the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor are concerned."

They insisted that they have raised on the floor of Council on several occasions that the Chairman and all members should carefully peruse and be guided at all times by the criteria set out in the first and advert for the position of Vice-Chancellor dated 15 March and 26 August 2024.

"The guideline for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors issued by the Federal Ministry of Education on the criteria for the appointment of Vice Chancellors in federal universities as captured in the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1993," they said.

They noted that the petition written to the Minister of Education by Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN, which accused the UNIABUJA Governing Council of “blatant breach” of the FME Guidelines on the appointment of Vice-Chancellors; and the FME’s letter of dissolution of the Governing Council of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University and the sacking of its Vice-Chancellor and Registrar for non-adherence to laid down procedures and due process should serve as a useful lesson for other universities, especially UNIABUJA.