The clarification comes amid growing controversy following the disengagement of 127 members of staff, some of whom had accused the university management of unfair treatment and alleged they were replaced by newly recruited employees.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, the university's Head of Public Relations and Protocol, Mr. Anyaso Anyaso, maintained that the recruitment exercise had been concluded before Prof. Akanwa assumed office as Vice-Chancellor on March 1, 2026.
According to him, the Vice-Chancellor had consistently explained during meetings with members of the university community that both the recruitment exercise and the capture of successful applicants on the government's payroll had already been completed before her appointment.
Explaining the circumstances surrounding the exercise, Anyaso said the Federal Government had granted approval for the recruitment of 426 staff, a figure that was equally endorsed by the university's Governing Council.
"The crux of the matter is that the Federal Government gave a waiver for the recruitment of 426 staff, a figure which the Governing Council also approved and directed the then Vice-Chancellor/Management to strictly adhere to in conducting the employment exercise."
He, however, revealed that the recruitment exercise exceeded the approved quota.
"Ironically, appointment letters were issued to 618 persons, while 553 were captured on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), which then uploaded only the 426 approved by the Federal Government and the Governing Council."
Anyaso further stressed that the Vice-Chancellor had no authority over the government's payroll platform, dismissing suggestions that she influenced who remained on the payroll.
"Suffice it to state here that the Vice-Chancellor has no access to the GIFMIS platform to either remove or change any name uploaded."
He urged the public to ignore what he described as misleading narratives surrounding the issue and advised stakeholders to rely only on official communication from the university.
"Disregard insinuations being peddled by mischief-makers, rely only on official university channels for accurate information and refrain from circulating unverified reports."
The university also refuted allegations that officials used force while retrieving identity cards from the disengaged workers.
Responding to questions from journalists, Anyaso insisted that no dismissal letters were issued and that no intimidation occurred during the process.
"MOUAU did not issue sack letters and did not use force to obtain their ID cards."
His remarks come a day after representatives of the 127 disengaged staff members accused the university management of humiliating them during the retrieval of their identity cards. The affected workers also alleged that, beyond losing their jobs, they had been replaced by other employees.
The conflicting accounts have further intensified public scrutiny of the recruitment exercise, as stakeholders await further clarification on the circumstances that led to the disengagement of the affected staff.