From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Some academic and non-academic workers in the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) have raised alarm that the school is going bankrupt, calling on the federal government to quickly intervene to rescue the school from imminent bankruptcy.
Officials of the school, in a statement, linked the financial precarious situation to the activities of the past management of the school that engaged in “illegal” activities particularly mass employment, contract awards, and several others unapproved engagements.
A statement jointly signed by Dr. Godwin Okaneme, Department of Philosophy,
Faculty of Arts; Umoru Abdulrasheed Oseni,
Department of Education Management, Faculty of Education; and Dr. Iheanyichukwu Hilary Ukpabi, National Vice Presidential Aspirant, University of Abuja Alumni Association, Worldwide, noted that the University is suffering the effect of some illegal activities of the past management particularly mass employment without adequate financial preparation.
The statement noted that the iissue of illegal employment by the past administration is threatening to tear this institution to shreads, stressing that majority of the appointments which were given during the twilight of the past administration did not follow due process.
It added: “The University did not advertise for the vacant positions, and there were no interviews conducted for those employed, neither were there inputs from departments and faculties where the employees were sent to. People were just given appointment letters and were asked to resume work.
“Today, the University is suffering the effects of these illegal employments as these people who were employed are not duly captured in the Federal Government payroll (IPPIS), hence the University is using its meager Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to pay their salaries which obviously is not sustainable in the long run.”
They appreciated the good works of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Patricia Lar, and suggested that the Federal Government set up a Visitation Panel to investigate the activities of the past management of the UniAbuja especially on issues of illegal employment, illegal award of contracts and alleged admission sharp practices.
“It is good to place on record that the Acting Vice Chancellor has a tenure of six months. However, there are still a lot of issues yet to be resolved, and realistically these issues may require more time to resolve, and otherwise could mean that the incoming administration will inherit more unsettling issues that will constitute a serious distraction to the governance of the University.
“Again, putting into perspective the fact that the University does not yet have a Governing Council, and also knowing that the Council has the statutory responsibility to advertise the vacancy for the new Vice Chancellor, it stands to reason that enough time will be needed to streamline the entire process to bring success to bear. This call is not based on any selfish sentiment, but based on critical and existential reality for what is worth doing is worth doing well.”