Taiwo Popoola
The House of Representatives Committee on University Education has invited the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Abdullahi Yusuf Ribadu, and heads of other relevant government bodies in the education sector over the recent dissolution of some university councils and the dismissal of vice-chancellors.
Chairman of the House Committee on University Education, Hon. Abubakar Hassan Fulata, disclosed this following a committee meeting regarding a petition against the suspended Vice-Chancellor of Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri, Prof. (Mrs) Stella Lemchi, and Imo State University.
A petition by a group known as Concerned Interviewed Professors for the Post of Vice-Chancellor, Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education (AIFUE) Owerri, Imo State, signed by Prof. Kingsley Ikebudu and Joshua Umeifekwem, alleged that Prof. Lemchi was not qualified to act as, or be appointed as, the substantive Vice-Chancellor of the institution. They claimed she had never been a staff member of Imo State University and that the course she professed to specialise in does not exist at IMSU.
However, appearing before the committee, the Registrar of Imo State University, Dr Julius Ozuagwu, dismissed the allegations. He stated that Lemchi had been offered an appointment as a Reader/Associate Professor at IMSU and that her promotion to Professor had followed due process, meeting NUC conditions for academic staff promotion. He further explained that she had taught for over ten years as a Chief Lecturer/Reader in a tertiary institution before attaining the rank.
On the claim that the course Lemchi specialised in does not exist at IMSU, Ozuagwu accused the petitioners of being mischievous. He explained that IMSU had sought to introduce a course that would promote self-employment among unemployed youths, which led to the recruitment of professionals for the programme.
He added that Lemchi was on secondment and had been allowed to complete her tenure as Provost of Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri.
Prof. Lemchi, in her defence, stated that all serving provosts of the five other federal colleges of education upgraded to universities alongside AIFUE were appointed as acting vice-chancellors by their governing councils or the Federal Ministry of Education. She pointed out that some of these provosts held only PhDs, whereas she was a professor, making claims about her ineligibility baseless.
She further noted that she obtained her PhD in 2005, at a time when one of the petitioners, Prof. Ikebudu, was still an undergraduate. She also stated that she graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1990, a year ahead of another petitioner, Prof. Umeifekwem.
“Yes, I was a Chief Lecturer for over 11 years when I applied for the position of Professor. It is pertinent to note that by 2005, when I became a Senior Lecturer at Alvan FCE, Prof. Ikebudu was still an undergraduate at his university. I obtained my PhD in 2006.
“I had spent 18 years as a post-Senior Lecturer with a PhD for over 17 years before applying for a professorship,” she stated.
She asserted that due process was followed in her appointment as the first substantive Vice-Chancellor of Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri, by the university council. She added that representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, the Federal Character Commission, and other stakeholders had monitored the appointment process without raising any objections.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ngozi Olehi, informed the committee that no law prohibits an acting vice-chancellor from being appointed as a substantive vice-chancellor in Nigerian universities.
Following the hearing, the committee resolved to invite the Minister of Education, the Executive Secretary of the NUC, and other relevant government bodies to address the frequent dissolution of university councils and the dismissal of vice-chancellors.
Fulata emphasised the need for job security for all university personnel, including council members and vice-chancellors, hence the necessity of engaging relevant stakeholders.
