ASUU, Ayade disagree over VC appointment

The Cross River University of Technology chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, has warned that academic activities in the institution may be paralysed if due process was not followed in appointing a new vice-chancellor for the institution.

Chairman of ASUU, CRUTECH chapter, Emmanuel Ettah, while briefing journalists, said the tenure of the current acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Akon Joshua, would end on Thursday, November 7, (today).

Ettah said the institution’s governing council had forwarded five names to Governor Ben Ayade, the visitor to the institution.

He alleged that there was a grand plot to appoint an acting vice-chancellor outside the five names submitted to the governor.

He said all students’ exams scripts had been returned to the VC’s office until a new acting VC takes over.

He said, “The tenure of the acting VC will be expiring on Thursday, November 7, 2019 (today). By law, she cannot continue and neither be reappointed.

“There’s a procedure to appoint an acting VC and the procedure is that the university Senate, through management and council, will recommend a few professors to the governing council for onward transmission to His Excellency, the Visitor.

“Five names have been forwarded and we are in the know that the Visitor wants to appoint an acting VC outside that list. And that would be a breach to the University Miscellaneous Act 2003.”

Ettah also said, “Our action as a union is not to oppose government, but to inform the government that due process is involved and should be followed through in appointing a Vice Chancellor.”

He said the union felt that if due process was not followed, “the autonomy of the university as entrenched in the constitution and as entrenched in the 2009 agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria would be eroded and that might lead to litigation.

Reacting, Special Adviser Media and Publicity to Governor Ayade, Mr Christian Ita, said ASUU was merely speculating.

“It is indeed the governor’s prerogative to appoint a vice -chancellor but he has not even done so yet. But all the outburst is based on speculations. It’s a shame and unfortunate. Under the law, the governor has not carried out any actions yet,” Ita said.