The Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU), has rejected the advertisement for the institution’s Vice Chancellor position.
Recall that the tenure of the incumbent Vice Chancellor of
the University will end by July 2024.
Chairman and Secretary of the chapter, Nuruddeen Almustapha
and 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 universities’ governing councils in June 2023 undermined the
institutions’ established procedures and autonomy.
ASUU alleged that an available report indicated that
attempts were being made by some outgoing Vice-Chancellors of federal
universities to explore the absence of their Universities’ Governing Councils
to impose their stooges as “Acting Vice Chancellors” 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,” the union said.
It further stated that “It has flagrantly violated Section
III, Subsections I and II of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act
1993.”
The union explained that university law distinctly
delineates the governing councils’ composition, roles, and dissolution
procedures.
According to ASUU, the law also prescribes the protocol in
the event of the council’s absence, particularly regarding the appointment of
principal officers, noting that “at no point does the law transfer the
council’s functions to the minister or the visitor.”
“ASUU-UDUS urgently calls on President Bola Tinubu, 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,” the Union said.
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