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The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, has been appointed a Visiting Scholar at the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) following a public lecture on university governance that drew widespread acclaim from academics and education stakeholders.
The appointment was announced by the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, shortly after Echono delivered a lecture based on his doctoral thesis, titled “Leadership Selection Process and Governance of Federal Universities in Nigeria (1993–2024).”
The appointment, perhaps, reflected the university’s endorsement of Echono’s scholarship on higher education governance and leadership.
Impressed by the quality and scholarly depth of the presentation, Prof. Fawehinmi also assured the TETFund Executive Secretary that an office would always be available for him on campus whenever he wished to engage students, researchers and university administrators.
In the lecture, Echono argued that ineffective leadership selection has become one of the major obstacles to the growth of Nigeria’s university system. Drawing from a three-year study of 20 federal universities across the country’s six geopolitical zones, he said increasing political interference, ethnic considerations, nepotism and cronyism have weakened merit-based appointments of vice-chancellors.
He maintained that universities that adopt transparent and competitive leadership selection processes are better positioned to promote research excellence, innovation, accountability and sound financial management.
To improve governance, Echono recommended the adoption of electronic voting systems and online application platforms, periodic independent audits of leadership selection exercises, virtual town hall engagements and stronger feedback mechanisms for stakeholders.
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The lecture sparked robust discussions among university administrators and governance experts, who echoed concerns over the growing politicisation of vice-chancellor appointments.
Professor Fawehinmi cautioned that governing councils were increasingly turning leadership appointments into political contests, stressing the need to return to merit, competence and institutional values.
Other panellists also advocated broader representation on search committees, including faculty members, students, alumni and industry stakeholders, while calling for a review of the powers of pro-chancellors in university governance.
One of the lecture’s strongest endorsements came from Professor Olympus Ejue of the Department of Theatre Arts, who described it as worthy of a university convocation lecture.
He said the presentation contained valuable insights that even professors could learn from, particularly those aspiring to leadership positions within the university system.
The event, held at the Abuja Leadership Centre of Excellence, highlighted growing concerns over the quality of leadership selection in Nigerian universities and renewed calls for governance reforms.
