From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the newly upgraded Yusuf Maitama Sule Federal University of Education, Kano, have petitioned the Federal Government, rejecting the appointment of its Vice Chancellor on grounds of alleged violation of due process and lack of transparency.
In the petition addressed to the Minister of Education and dated Thursday, June 12, the lecturers disclosed that the appointment process was a charade orchestrated by the Governing Council in clear breach of laid-down procedures and rules of such an appointment.
While accusing the Governing Council of bad faith and bias, they stated that the Council, as presently constituted, excluded the representatives of critical bodies like the University Senate, Congregation, and Convocation.
The petition urged the Federal Government to invalidate the appointment and direct the conduct of a new and transparent exercise under the charge of a properly constituted Governing Council.
The petition, signed by Bashir Ibrahim, Ibrahim Adamu Kabuga, Abdusamad Kabuga, Abdulkareem Ahmad Tijjani, and Habibu Ahmad Garba, among others, also called for the removal of the present Chairman of the Governing Council, accusing him of bias, incompetence, and conflict of interest.
They asked the Federal Government to reconstitute the Governing Council to include the statutory bodies while also appealing to the government to address the cases of victimisation in the university and ensure that staff members victimised for the positions they held on the matter in dispute were compensated.