The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) on Friday, condemned the duly and lawfully constituted Governing Councils in the Federal Universities, Polytechnics, Monotechnics, Colleges of Education, and other Degree Awarding Institutions.
Presently, there are at least 203 Federal Government controlled Degree Awarding Institutions in Nigeria including 92 Monotechnics, 43 Universities, 41 Polytechnics, and 27 Colleges of Education. Since June 2023, at least 203 of those Degree Awarding Institutions have been without ‘duly constituted Governing Councils, following the Federal Government’s unilateral dissolution of Boards and Councils of Federal Agencies, Parastatals, and Institutions including the Governing Councils/Boards of all Federal Institutions.
According to the Board Chair of the Intersociety, Mr Emeka Umeagbalasi, it is also totally despicable and condemnable for the Federal Government to have unilaterally sacked the Governing Councils of the affected Federal Government Degree Awarding Institutions without recourse to their prescribed office tenures provided in the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 1993 as amended in 2003 and 2012) and other rules and regulations governing such Degree Awarding Institutions.
He regretted that the absence of duly constituted Governing Councils in the institutions has turned their Vice Chancellors, Provosts, and Rectors into demigods and outlaws; to the extent that they have been reported to have engaged, unchecked, in different types of illegalities and immoral conduct.
This he said, is in addition to dictatorial tendencies, imposition of unlawful and extortionist levies, promotion of favoritism and nepotism, contract inflation and kickbacks, including the imposition of successors to their office posts, and unlawful appointment of faculty deans, departmental heads, and provosts of colleges of medicine
Umeagbalasi cited the case of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, where it said it has gathered intelligence reports that the outgoing Vice Chancellor has abused the powers of the Governing Council including unilateral increases in students’ school fees and imposition of strange fees such as “PECULIAR Levy” during which the student union leaders were allegedly compelled to sign the schedule for the payment of the new fees.
“The present Government of Nigeria is hereby called upon to duly constitute the Governing Councils of the affected Degree Awarding Institutions.
“This must be done as a matter of uttermost immediacy and inexcusability.
“The government must also purge itself of dictatorial tendencies and inclinations and conduct its public affairs strictly in line with the international democratic best practices including at all times adhering to due processes and procedures under the UN System which must include use of merit and avoid resorting to discrimination and segregation (structural violence) in all federal office appointments and postings.
“The reconstitution of the Governing Councils of Federal Universities, Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Colleges of Education and other special Degree Awarding Institutions in Nigeria must also be carried out in full compliance with Sections 14 (3) and 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended; which command “all authorities and persons” under Federal Tier of Government in Nigeria to steadily ensure ‘geopolitical (regional) and sub-national (states) balancing’ in all federal appointments and postings as well as prohibiting such appointments and postings from being discriminated or segregated upon and layered in bias.
“The referenced Government of Nigeria must ensure that due and diligence processes are followed and adhered to in the appointment of new and substantive VCs as replacements for the outgoing ones and attempts to imposed stooges of the former or outgoing ones thwarted and reversed,” he said.
