• Controversies trail FG’s new guidelines on appointment of VCs, rectors, provosts
By Gabriel Dike
The recent directive by the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) on new guidelines for the appointment of university vice-chancellors, polytechnic rectors and college of education provosts is generating mixed reactions from staff unions and stakeholders.
The Congress of University Academics (CONUA), Senior Staff Association Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) described the guidelines as a welcome development, but sought thorough implementation by the governing councils.
In the last five years, staff unions and individual lecturers have faulted how the governing councils in the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education conducted selection exercise for VCs, rectors and provosts.
Cases of irregular appointments were witnessed in University of Abuja; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State; Federal Polytechnics Bida, Niger State, Offa in Kwara State, and Nekede, Imo State. So also were appointments of five rectors quashed by the National Industrial Court (NIC).
Others included Nigeria Maritime University (NMU), Okerenkoko, Delta State; Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State; University of Ibadan, Oyo State; Lagos State University; Osun State University; Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
The new guidelines
The new policy guidelines rolled out by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, says:
“This policy has become necessary following a pattern of undue advantage observed over the years, where officers serving in acting capacities often leverage their positions to influence appointment outcomes, thereby compromising the fairness and transparency of the selection process.
“To eliminate this practice, ensure a level playing field for all qualified candidates and strengthen institutional governance, the policy stipulates that any officer serving in an acting capacity as VCs, rectors and provosts shall not be eligible to apply for the substantive position while still holding the acting appointment.
“However, in the interest of fairness, such officers may choose to recuse themselves from their acting position before the expiration of their non-renewable six-month tenure, thereby becoming eligible to apply for the substantive roles.
“The policy is designed to complement the existing Federal Ministry of Education guidelines for the appointment of VCs, rectors and provosts (2013), along with other extant regulations governing appointments in federal tertiary institutions.”
The minister warned governing councils and management to ensure strict compliance with the new directive: “It is our belief that this policy will bring about the desired reforms and enhance public confidence in the selection of principal officers in our institutions.”
SSANU’s position
SSANU’s national vice president (West), Dr. Abdussobur Salaam, said: “The 2013 guidelines have had little effect. This new directive appears good, but compliance is another thing entirely. The problem of acting vice-chancellors having an edge over others truly exists. Sometimes, the circumstances that lead to someone taking over as acting VC are carefully contrived to achieve that purpose.”
He argued that, if the new policy worked: “It would help to stem some of those controversies and crisis, because it would create a level playing field for all contenders, with no candidate having an incumbency advantage over others.
“SSANU’s position is clear about the appointment of vice-chancellors. A VC is not just an academic leader but also the head of administration in the university. All stakeholders should be involved in the process of appointing a vice-chancellor. As at today, that is not the case. There are still more steps to be taken to make the appointment of principal officers more democratic and inclusive to involve all stakeholders in the system.”
ASUP’s stand
National president, ASUP, Shammah Kpanja, observed: “Crises surrounding appointments of new rectors are largely caused by the government and the councils. The Federal Polytechnics Act, as amended in 2019, explicitly provides the processes to be followed by the governing councils.
“If we have a council that is responsible and knows what it is doing, there is no acting rector that can make them compromise the selection process. In any case, the ministry has the mandate to supervise the activities of governing councils.
“It is also expected that, if the council fails to follow the procedure outlined for the appointment of rectors, it is incumbent on the ministry to call such a council to order.
“Therefore, we believe that these new guidelines will not have significant effect on the crises surrounding the appointments of new rectors. The experience of our union over the illegal appointments of rectors and other principal officers is not palatable.”
Kpanja explained that, at a certain points, the union had to institute a suit against the Federal Government at the NIC, Abuja, over appointment of unqualified persons as rectors of five polytechnics established by then President Muhammadu Buhari and the court gave judgment in favour of ASUP: “At the moment, our union has also joined in the suit instituted by an NGO against the appointment of the rector of Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, by President Bola Tinubu.
“The only thing that will help bring sanity in the appointment of principal officers in the polytechnic is strict observerance of the template for appointment of principal officers developed by the National Board for Technical Education and the Federal Polytechnics Act, as amended in 2019, by the governing councils and the Federal Government.”
CONUA president, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, said: “These guidelines mark a crucial step in addressing the long-standing crises and irregularities that have plagued leadership transitions in the university system.
“For years, the appointment process has suffered from a lack of transparency, undue interference and manipulation by vested interests, often resulting in legal disputes, internal divisions, and reputational damage to institutions. The new policy directly addresses these issues and, if properly enforced, holds the potential to restore merit, order and integrity to academic leadership appointments.
“The union has long sounded the alarm on irregularities and undue interference in the appointment of principal officers in Nigerian universities. CONUA has consistently expressed concerns over lack of transparency, politicisation and persistent violation of due process in the selection of vice-chancellors and other top university officials.
“The union’s position is not borne out of theory but experience. The very formation of CONUA in 2016 was partly triggered by the gross manipulation of the VC appointment process at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Despite the presence of over 10 qualified candidates, the selection process was skewed in favour of a particular individual by the university’s governing council and in connivance with some other elements within, in clear breach of fairness and merit.
“That singular event partly catalyzed the birth of CONUA as an alternative platform. It was formed in principled resistance to injustice and institutional decay.
“The new guidelines have the potential to bring some measure of sanity to the process of appointing principal officers in Nigerian public universities. The success, however, lies not in the existence of the policy itself but in its sincere, principled and consistent implementation.
“Over the years, the appointment processes in several institutions were marred by favoritism, lack of transparency, undue interference and disregard for due process. That was indeed, a sad one.”