By Dele Moses, Ilorin
The newly appointed Vice Chancellor of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Professor Muhammed Mustapha Akanbi, has resumed office after much criticism of his appointment.
Akanbi was appointed about three weeks ago as the second substantive Vice Chancellor of the the university by the state Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who made the appointment after approving the recommendation of the Governing Council of the university.
His appointment was however trailed by criticism from stakeholders who are from outside the Kwara Central Senatorial District where he hails from.
The criticism was not about his qualification but about his zone as the critics argued that the appointment ought not to be the turn of his district
He is from the same central district with the first substantive Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Rasheed Na’Allah who spent two terms of five years each in office.
The critics who are majorly from both the north and south Senatorial districts saw the appointment as going against the understanding that it should be turn of either of the two districts.
Some of those who believed that it should be the turn of the north district argued that the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Sakah Mahmud who was reportedly on the list of the last three candidates shortlisted for the job ought to have been appointed.
The criticism did not however go without a reaction as stakeholders from the Central district countered that Akanbi’s appointment was based on merit as some of them argued that his younger age in comparism to the two other candidates was an advantage for him.
The new vice chancellor pledged to consolidate the good legacies initiated behind by his predecessors as the acting Vice Chancellor, Mahmud officially handed over to him on Monday.
He said that he had begun moves to make KWASU a university of first choice in Nigeria through the introduction of best practice in academic culture, robust staff welfare programmes, impactful community development initiatives, and sellable academic programmes.
Akanbi called on staff and students of the university to join hands with him in his efforts to promote the institution to more enviable heights.
He added that all his line up of programmes can only be achieved with the cooperation and support of the staff and entire stakeholders of the Institution.
Akanbi appreciated the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the university, Na’Allah, for the foundation he laid for KWASU saying that his pioneering contributions would not be forgotten in a hurry.
He also commended the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Mahmud, for contributing to the progress and development of the university within the period he led the institution and pleged to continue from where he stopped.
Earlier, Mahmud said the university is blessed with dynamic and vibrant staff and students stressing that the school is endowed with a lot of potentials.
He identified funding as the major challenge confronting the institution, saying that paucity of funds limited groundbreaking researches that will not only enhance quality teaching and learning but also improve the institution’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Present at the handing over ceremony were the Acting Registrar, Mr Muhammed Shuaib and the Acting Bursar, Mr Muhammed Abubakar.