The controversy surrounding the appointment of a substantive Vice-Chancellor for the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) has intensified, with external members of the Governing Council boycotting a scheduled meeting on Tuesday.
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The meeting, convened by Council Chairman Air Vice Marshal Saddiq Ismaila Kaita (retd.), was reportedly called late Monday night, with plans to appoint a new Vice-Chancellor by 3:00 PM on Tuesday.
Sources within the university have raised concerns about the lack of transparency and due process, as external council members were not provided with an agenda prior to the meeting. The law governing the appointment of Vice-Chancellors clearly outlines the composition of the selection committee, requiring the presence of the Chairman, two Council members (not members of Senate), and two Senate representatives (not members of Council) for any interview conducted for VC selection to be valid.
The external council members who boycotted the meeting include Prof. Raphael Akinfeleye (South-West Representative), Mrs. Chisom Dorcas Obih (South-East Representative), and Alhaji Sabo Bappayo Ahmed (North-East Representative).
On Monday, a group of 67 professors submitted a protest letter to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, calling for the dissolution of the Governing Council and a fresh start to the selection process. The professors accused the Chairman of rejecting over 87 applications (27 internal and 60 external), inviting only three candidates, and allegedly favoring the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Aisha Maikudi, despite claims that she lacks the required qualifications.
The petitioners further alleged that internal council members were handpicked by the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah, during an ASUU strike, and that the council included unqualified members who lacked the necessary expertise for their roles. They also claimed that key criteria for the VC position, such as a minimum of ten years of professorial experience, were disregarded in the August 2024 advertisement.
The professors argued that Prof. Maikudi, with only two years of professorial experience, lacks both academic visibility and strong scholarly credentials to hold the office. In their petition, they demanded the nullification of all actions taken by the current Governing Council and called on the Education Minister to dissolve the council, constitute a new one to oversee a transparent selection process, and ensure adherence to due process and merit-based selection.
The petition warned that failure to address these concerns would have far-reaching consequences for the university and Nigeria’s higher education system, as other Governing Councils might adopt similar flawed processes.
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