THE Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has called on the Federal Ministry of Education to explain why it is has refused to take action against the Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Gusau, who is still in office despite being asked to resign by the ministry, following the evidence that she obtained appointment fraudulently.
COEASU’s National President, Dr Sam Olugbeko, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, said the union is bewildered that the ministry suddenly went dead and continued to condone her stay in office even though a resignation order dated December 28, 2023, has directed that she should resign.
The statement read, “It is with grave concern that the union brings to the fore the continued stay in office of Dr Hauwa’u Gimbiya Mukhtar Abdulkarim, who has been proven to have forged her promotion documents that ‘qualified’ her to be appointed as the Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Gusau, by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The union finds it curious that the Federal Ministry of Education has condoned the woman’s stay in office in defiance of the resignation order dated December 28, 2023, served her by the same ministry.
“The ministry’s directive for her resignation was on the premise that she forged her letter of promotion in order for her to be qualified to be appointed the provost. The union is shocked that six months after the directive, she has neither resigned nor vacated her office as she continued to superintend over the institution – taking critical decisions as provost.”
“The union is particularly worried that as a female teacher-trainee tertiary institution, the ministry’s obvious inaction on the matter, which has emboldened the woman to hang on to office, portends grave implication on not only the education of the students but also their ethical training.
“Besides, the act of giving authority to an individual who has been proven to all, the ministry and other stakeholders inclusive, to have forged her documents leading to the appointment poses a significant threat to the integrity and effectiveness of our educational system. It is imperative that appointments within our educational institutions are made based on merit, competency and adherence to established qualifications criteria.
“The union, while decrying the lack of will of the Federal Ministry of Education to enforce their directive, urges the Minister of Education to prevail on the appropriate officials to enforce the resignation order for her to vacate office without further delay to avoid a possible national industrial action.
“We trust that the minister will act swiftly and decisively to rectify this situation and uphold the integrity of the College of Education system.”
In his reaction, the Minister of State for Education, Tanko Sununu, said the ministry is not condoning the Provost’s continued stay in office but rather following due process.
ALSO READ: HIV infections, teenage pregnancies rising in Nigeria, NGO warns
