A few days before President Bola Tinubu sacked the 7th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja (now Yakubu Gowon University), Prof. Aisha Maikudi, a group of 109 senior academic staff from the institution wrote to the president, urging him to disregard an earlier letter that had called for a review of Prof Maikudi’s appointment as the VC of UNIABUJA.
The youngest female vice-chancellor was sacked alongside the Governing Council of the institution on 6 February 2025.
Prior to her selection by the governing council of UNIABUJA, over 40 professors had written to the president protesting the selection process, describing it as a charade.
They argued that Maikudi VC did not have the required number of years as a professor to be suitable for the position of vice-chancellor at a federal university.
They claimed that a candidate for this top academic and administrative role should have held the rank of full professor for at least 10 years. Unfortunately, Maikudi had only been a professor for two years, which they claimed disqualified her from even applying for the position.
In a counter-letter sent to the president via the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, another 109 professors expressed their support for Maikudi, countering the position of those opposed to her vice chancellorship.
They further claimed in their letter of support for Maikudi that the 10-year requirement as a professor to become a Vice Chancellor of a federal government university is not backed by law.
They suggested that the inclusion of the 10-year professorial rank requirement was a fabrication by those who did not want Maikudi as the 14th VC of the institution.
The Claim
The 109 professors who supported Maikudi and pushed to retain her position wrote:
“There was even an attempt to use a non-existent rule against her, stating that a candidate for the position of vice chancellor must have been a professor for 10 years. This requirement, which is neither stipulated in the Acts nor supported by any law, is inconsistent with precedent and prevailing practices in many universities. It is a deliberate attempt to disqualify her on technical grounds.”
Is this claim true?
According to the provisions of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Decree No. 11 of 1993 (as amended by Decree No. 25 of 1996) and by the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1993 (Amendment) Act 2003 and Act 2012, a candidate for the position of a Vice Chancellor must not only have a good university education but must have been a distinguished scholar of the rank of Professor for at least 10 years.
The University of Abuja is not the only federal university where this requirement is enforced. During the recruitment for the position of a new Vice Chancellor at the University of Ibadan in 2020, it was also clearly stated that the candidate must have attained the position of professor for no less than 10 years. This law also applies in most of the state-owned universities across Nigeria as well.
Therefore, when the council of a university makes a shortlist of candidates for the position of a vice chancellor, they must be guided by these requirements before handing over the list to the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board (JCSSB) of the institution.
Verdict
The claim by the 109 professors that no law supports the 10-year requirement as a professor to be appointed a VC is FALSE and demonstrates a lack of understanding of the established Acts.
A candidate for the position of a vice chancellor must be a distinguished professor for at least 10 years with a significant number of scholarly works that command the respect of the academic community.
Join EdubaseNG WhatsApp Channel to get the latest education & student loan tips
Join our Telegram Channel to get the latest news about Student Loans & Education News.
Are you a stakeholder in education? You can become our guest writer. Write to us using our our email address here
