REGARDING THE APPOINTMENT OF AN ACTING VICE-CHANCELLOR OF NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY, AWKA.
The Council meeting was originally scheduled for July 29th and 30th, 2024, to allow the UNIZIK Senate to convene on July 24th and respond to Council requests. However, just yesterday, on July 19th, the Council Chairman issued a circular directing that the meeting be held today, July 20th, 2024. Consequently, this meeting precedes the advertised Senate session.
The Governing Council of the University convened on Saturday, July 20th, 2024.
During the consideration of the appointment of an acting Vice-Chancellor, the Pro-Chancellor and Council Chairman referenced a document signed by twenty-four professors, which allegedly represented a resolution from an emergency Senate meeting held on July 19th, 2024. This document nominated two former Deputy Vice-Chancellors for the position, both of whom are over sixty-five (65) but under seventy (70) years of age.
It is crucial to highlight that the Senate has a membership exceeding five hundred (500), and the meeting in question was neither convened nor attended by the Registrar and Secretary to the Senate, nor by the Acting Vice-Chancellor. Furthermore, it did not meet the quorum requirements for a Senate meeting.
The Acting Vice-Chancellor and Council members representing statutory University bodies opposed the admission of this document, asserting that the purported resolution did not originate from a legally constituted Senate meeting.
The Secretary of the Senate subsequently issued a circular to the University Council and the larger university community, declaring the resolution illegal and advising that it be disregarded.
At this juncture, the Vice-Chancellor presented a copy of the Honourable Minister’s letter to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, sent through the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (Ref. No. NUC/ES/141/VOL.18/481), dated July 18th, 2024.
This letter instructed that there should be no age limitation for the appointment. Despite this, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Council refused to acknowledge the document and led the government appointees in the Council out of the Chamber. Upon returning after a brief recess, the Chairman attempted to proceed with the illegality, but other members resisted, leading the government appointees to walk out again, resulting in a stalemate.
Following the meeting, the Chairman went to the car park, accompanied by a heavy military presence that had intimidated Council members during the session. He summoned Prof. Carol Arinze-Umobi and presented her with an appointment letter as acting Vice-Chancellor, made without the Senate’s recommendation.
Below is the acting VC being thrust upon the University, receiving a certificate in a car park.
