By Cross Udo and Cajetan Mmuta
President Bola Tinubu has approved the dissolution of the Governing Council of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Anambra State, and the removal of Prof Bernard Odoh, the new vice-chancellor, and Mrs Rosemary Nwokike, the registrar.
The council, led by Ambassador Greg Mbadiwe, included five other members: Hafiz Oladejo, Augustine Onyedebelu, Amioleran Osahon, and Gen Funsho Oyeneyin (retd).
The dissolution of the governing council was made public yesterday in Abuja via a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
The statement said, “The sacking of the governing council and officials followed reports that the council illegally appointed an unqualified vice-chancellor without following due process.”
It further explained that after the controversial appointment, the Federal Government intervened to address tensions between the university’s Senate and the 33-year-old institution’s governing council.
The government expressed concern over the council’s apparent disregard for the university’s governing laws in its selection process.
In the same vein, President Tinubu also approved the removal of Engr. Ohieku Muhammed Salami is the Pro-chancellor and Chairman of the Federal University of Health Sciences governing council in Otukpo, Benue State.
The decision followed Salami’s illegal actions, including suspending the Vice-Chancellor without following the prescribed procedures.
Despite the Federal Ministry of Education’s call for the unlawful suspension to be revoked, Engr. Salami refused to comply. Instead, he resorted to abusive and threatening behaviour towards the Ministry’s Directors, including the Permanent Secretary.
The Federal Government reiterated that university councils’ primary responsibility is to ensure the smooth operation of university activities in accordance with the act establishing each university.
Tinubu warned the councils not to create distractions in their universities as his government is focused on improving the country’s education standards.
In another development, President Tinubu has approved the immediate swap of the Pro-Chancellors and Chairmen of the Governing Councils for the Federal University Oye-Ekiti and Federal University Lokoja.
In this reshuffling, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, currently serving as the Pro-Chancellor of Federal University Lokoja, will take over at Federal University, Oye-Ekiti.
Kayode Ojo, who previously held a similar position at Oye-Ekiti, will assume the role in Lokoja.
“This strategic change is part of President Tinubu’s initiative to foster diversity and national cohesion in the management of the country’s universities,” a statement from Onanuga explained.
*ASUU claims neutrality in controversy
Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) UNIZIK chapter has said its leadership and members have no vested interest in the entire matter but only did what the local body wished and expected.
The Chairman of the ASUU of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Kingsley Ubaorji, told ThisNigeria in a telephone interview yesterday that he did not react.
However, he was doing what only the local body of ASUU asked him to do.
He said, “I only did what my branch asked me to do. They said we should go on protest; we went on protest. They said we should go to court; we went to court. They said we should write to the National ASUU. We wrote to the National Secretariat of ASUU. So, we never did anything we were not asked to do, and that’s all.”
Ubaorji added, “After doing that, they said we should go to press, and we went to press and did all those. After that, we handed it off, and National took it up from there.”
“So, it’s not an exceptional thing. I have no interest. My interest is level playing ground and fighting for justice, which the members started. There is what we call a roadmap. The branch started the road map after our election. That brought us where we are today, and we give God the glory. That’s all.”
