Crisis brews in UNIUYO over selection of new V-C

The senate of the University of Uyo has disagreed with the management of the institution over the alleged manipulation of the selection process for the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor.

Consequently, some senate members have petitioned the Governing Council, demanding the process be made democratic and transparent in line with the tradition in obtainable in other Universities.

According to the petition under the aegis of ‘The Concerned Senate Members in the University of Uyo’ and addressed to Enefiok Essien, the University’s Vice-Chancellor and copied the Governing Council Chairman, Austin Awujo, and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), UNIUYO chapter, they alleged that the outgoing VC, whose five-year tenure ends at the end of 2020, has flouted the laid down process leading to the emergence of the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UNIUYO.
The petition signed by six eminent Professors including a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC), Trenchard Ibia, read in part:

“A special meeting of the Senate was held on Monday, September 28, 2020, with an electronic circulated agenda, tagged: ‘Member of Senate on the selection board for the appointment of a new VC for the University of Uyo’.

At the meeting, the Registrar, Mr. Aniediabasi Udo, misinformed and thereby misled the Senate by lifting, circulating, and reading section 4 of the Universities’ (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1993, as if that section is part of the process of appointing a new Vice-Chancellor.

Section 4 was read by the Registrar as follows: “Where a vacancy occurs in the post of Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the VC shall forward to the Senate a list of two candidates for each of the Deputy VC that is vacant (emphasis Registrar).

“The VC willingly guided by the Registrar’s misinformation erroneously sought and obtained Senate approval to appoint two Senate members to the Joint Council and Senate selection board.

“This is completely against the age-long known procedure and practice of election of Senate representative to the Joint Council and Senate Committee.

“Section 4 of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1993 (as amended) is exclusively meant for the appointment of DVCs and it is not an extension of section 3, subsection 3 of the same Act, which relates exclusively to the composition of the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board for the appointment of VCs into Federal public Universities.

“We are dissatisfied with the way, the manner and the condition under which the VC obtains Senate ‘approval’ to solely appoint members of the Senate to the Joint Council and Senate Committee because the ‘approval was obtained using misinformation and veiled untruths”.

Speaking to journalists, Ibia asked the outgoing VC to halt the process and convened a special Senate meeting with a view to arriving at a satisfactory process towards the emergence of the new VC.

However, the Vice-Chancellor, Enegiok Essien, a professor law in a telephone interview said though he was aware of the petition, he has yet to see a copy since he was outside Akwa Ibom and had just returned.

According to him, he will only comment after seeing the petition adding that had been in Abuja for official engagements.

“In fact, I have not seen the petition so I cannot speak about it. I was in Abuja for official engagements. I have just returned,” he said.

On the number of professors who have indicated interest to succeed him, he said the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor is the responsibility of the governing with the pro-chancellor as chairman and the registrar as secretary. He said applications for the post of the Vice-Chancellor are made to the registrar adding he would be in a position to explain better.

Similarly, the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Udo, speaking on phone from Abuja, denied the allegation of misinformation regarding the selection process, explaining that perhaps, the petitioners were not paying attention to the portion he read at the meeting.

The VC, he added, “is well versed with the knowledge of the laws of the institution as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), maintaining that he was not in a better position to advise a SAN on matters pertaining to rules, laws, and regulations of the University.

No fewer than ten Professors are angling to succeed Essien and are expected to face another round of screening and selection process on Monday, October 5.