Henceforth, acting Vice-Chancellors, Rectors, and Provosts of all government-owned institutions will no longer be allowed to contest for a substantive vacancy unless they first resign from their acting positions—a move aimed at preventing conflict of interest and restoring credibility to the selection process.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, announced the approval of the new guideline on Thursday as part of efforts to eliminate recent crises that have rocked several higher institutions across the country.
Why the new appointment guidelines?
Announcing the new policy, the Director of Press at the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, said it became necessary to end instances where incumbent acting VCs, Rectors, and Provosts take undue advantage over other qualified contestants.
A situation whereby “officers serving in acting capacities often leverage their positions to influence appointment outcomes, thereby compromising the fairness and transparency of the selection process,” the statement noted.
What do the new guidelines say?
Henceforth, any officer serving in an acting capacity as Vice-Chancellor, Rector, or Provost will not be eligible to apply for the substantive position while still holding the acting appointment.
The only condition under which an acting officer may contest for the substantive position is if they first resign from their acting role before the expiration of the non-renewable six-month tenure.
The government says the new policy is designed to complement the existing Federal Ministry of Education Guidelines for the Appointment of Vice-Chancellors, Rectors, and Provosts (2013), along with all other extant regulations governing appointments in federal tertiary institutions.
The Ministry of Education urged Governing Councils and Managements of institutions to strictly comply with the new rules.
Recent controversies that led to the policy
In recent times, acting Vice-Chancellors of federal universities such as the University of Abuja, Admiralty University, and Nnamdi Azikiwe University were found to be eyeing the substantive positions while still in acting capacity. President Bola Tinubu sacked all of them.
For instance, the former acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja (now Yabuku Gowon University), Prof. Aisha Maikudi—who had only two years’ experience as a full professor—contested and was selected by the governing council of the institution while still serving in an acting capacity.
The decision plunged UniAbuja into an internal crisis, with academic staff of the school petitioning the President and the Minister of Education, alleging that Aisha was ‘dubiously’ favoured in the selection process. Tinubu later intervened by removing the VC and sacking the members of the Governing Council to put an end to the crisis.
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