– The secretary described the suspension as a usurpation of the roles of the Governing Council and disregard for the university autonomy Act
– At the time of this press conference, we are not aware of any breach of the extant laws regarding the selection process
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The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) University of Jos (UNIJOS) branch has condemned the suspension of the Vice-Chancellorship race of the institution by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
Speaking at a press conference in Jos, the Secretary of the union, Mr. Muplang Kangpe, decried the suspension, saying the Governing Council of the university had not derailed in following due process in the selection of new vice chancellor, hence should be allowed to conclude the process.
“At the time of this press conference, we are not aware of any breach of the extant laws regarding the selection process neither are we aware of a petition by any candidate and groups.
“But to our greatest dismay, the entire process was ordered to be suspended and invitation was extended to council members to appear before the Executive Secretary of NUC, by Wednesday, April 21.
“This, we strongly feel, is orchestrated to truncate the laid down statutory process duly followed before the recent development.
“May we also want to state that this is an outright disregard of the university autonomy Act and an usurpation of the responsibility of the governing council,” he said.
He explained that the process, which commenced since last December was to be concluded with an announcement of a new vice chancellor by Friday, April 23.
The secretary described the suspension as a usurpation of the roles of the Governing Council and disregard for the university autonomy Act, adding that it had created unnecessary tension within the university community and raised suspicions among the candidates vying for the position.
He said: “This singular act of suspending the process is also creating unnecessary tension within the university community as generating suspicion among the candidates, thereby brewing conflict in the peaceful environment.
“We, therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari, to call the attention of the NUC executive secretary, Prof. Abdulrasheed Abubakar, to desist from interfering with the activities of the governing council, who are appointed to oversee the activities of the university on behalf of the Visitor.
“Also, we call on the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to direct the conclusion of the selection process to enable a smooth emergence of a new vice chancellor.”
Also, the students of institution called on the Federal Government to ensure the right thing was done.
The Speaker of the Students Union Government (SUG) parliament of the university, Mr Nanshin Lakai, said they were in solidarity with the staff.
“As the largest constituency in this institution, we are here, first in solidarity with our staff, and secondly, to ensure the right thing is done.
“To show how serious we are about this, students defy going to write their examination just to be here,” he said.
It was reported that the students later barricaded the entrance of the university, stopping entrance and exiting of persons.
Thirteen candidates are vying for the position of the vice chancellor of the institution.