The Federal Government has sacked all the vice chancellors of the 12 Federal universities established by the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
In addition, the Vice Chancellor of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Vincent Tenebe was also sacked.
However, Committee of Vice-Chancellors (CVC) has exolained that the tenure of vice-chancellors of nine of the universities will expire on February 15.
A statement by Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu on Saturday in Abuja simply said President Muahammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of new vice chancellors for the universities.
But the decision is already generating ripples, with some members of the academic community claiming that it is only the Governing Council of NOUN of which Tenebe is a member, that could remove him.
A human rights organisation, Coalition of Civil Society Groups has protested against the sack in a letter to Buhari, demanding the reversal of the decision in which the NOUN VC was replaced with Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu of the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano.
The substantive Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, Prof. Mohammed Kundiri, was transferred to the Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State.
In the protest letter to Buhari by its president Etuk Bassey Williams and secretary-general, Ibrahim Abubakar, CCSG said the action contravenes the provisions of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act No.11 of 1993 (as amended) by decree No.25, 1996 and further amended in 2003 and 2012 respectively and other agreements as contained in the 2009 FGN staff union agreement.
The petitioners said that four out of the 12 newly appointed vice chancellors are from Kano University, an action they said, was a clear violation of the Federal Character principle.
9 VCs of Federal varsities end tenure Feb. 15 – CVC
Prof. Michael Faborode, the Secretary-General, Committee of Vice-Chancellors (CVC) says the tenure of vice-chancellors of nine Federal Universities will expire on Feb. 15.
Faborode, who spoke with NAN on Saturday in Abuja, said that it was not fair to say that the vice-chancellors were sacked.
Media reports on Saturday said the Federal Government sacked the VCs of 12 Federal universities established by the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in addition to that of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
The affected universities are: Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State, Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State, Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State and Federal University, Wakari, Taraba State.
Others are Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Federal University, Ndufe-Alike, Ebonyi State and Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
Also affected are Federal University Gashua, Yobe State, Federal University, Gasau, Zamfara State and Federal University, Kebbi.
“The tenure of the vice-chancellors of nine of these universities expires on February 15.
“It will be unfair to say that they were sacked; they have exhausted their tenure; when your tenure is not renewed; it does not mean you are sacked.
“I do not know the reasons why the vice-chancellors of the other three universities were affected,’’ Faborode said.
-NAN