The national leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has insisted that the appointment of Dr Benard Odoh and Mrs. Rosemary Ifeoma Nwokike as the new Vice-Chancellor and Registrar respectively for the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU) Akwa will not stand as their appointments are illegal according to the union.
The union called on the visitor to the university, President Bola Tinubu to cancel the two appointments with immediate effect.
ASUU gave this position again in a statement signed by its President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke and made available to Nigerian Tribune on Wednesday.
The union said its National Executive Council (NEC) took this stance at a meeting held at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State between 8th and 9th of this month where it discussed some burning issues as affected the nation’s university system including the current crisis rocking NUA over the two appointments.
Explaining the rationale for taking the stance, ASUU said there were “obvious abuses and breaches of the university extant laws and procedures by the Governing Council of the university” in the appointment of the two officers.
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According to ASUU, the Ambassador Greg Mbadiwe-led Governing Council of NAU did not follow the eligibility criteria as advertised in the dailies for the position of a Vice-Chancellor of the university.
The union said the person appointed as the VC is not qualified for the post for many reasons including that he is not yet a professor but a doctoral degree holder.
Aside from this, ASUU continued, that some of the eligible groups in the university system that by law should be part of the selection team for the appointment of VC in particular were excluded from performing the role.
It listed internal members of the Council and the Senate representatives as references.
ASUU noted that several appeals and interventions had been made by ASUU of NAU chapter, the Senate of the university, Federal Ministry of Education as well as the Association of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to the Mbadiwe-led Governing Council of the institution to do the right thing by following due process on the appointments but that the efforts yielded no results.
“So, to us, we view this action of Mbadiwe-led Governing Council as dictatorial and repressive and a mockery of the academia and university system, as it has no place in the University Law and tradition,” ASUU said.
The union observed that the continued stay in office by the two appointees is an invitation to anarchy at NAU and must be guided against.
“That is why we call on President Tinubu as a visitor to the university to immediately step in and restore law and order in NAU,” ASUU concluded.
