The Federal University, Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA), Katsina State, is again embroiled in a leadership crisis following controversies surrounding the selection process for the vice-chancellor position.
The crisis erupted after the university’s governing council shortlisted candidates for interview for the VC role. Some aspirants criticised the process, accusing the outgoing vice-chancellor, Prof. Armayau Bichi, of manipulating the exercise to favour his preferred candidate.
These allegations have drawn widespread attention, particularly within academic circles, prompting two aggrieved contenders to file formal petitions challenging the process.
However, Prof Bichi denied the allegations, saying the selection process was conducted with utmost integrity.
Petitions against outgoing VC
One of the contenders, Prof. Sadiq Radda, submitted a petition to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, alleging a deliberate plan to compromise the process and exclude him from consideration.
Prof. Radda, a professor in the Sociology Department at Bayero University, Kano, claimed that several qualified candidates were dropped without justification despite fulfilling all the advertised requirements.
He accused the outgoing vice-chancellor of attempting to impose a less qualified candidate.
In his petition dated April 25, which was also copied to the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, the Chairman of the Governing Council, and the ASUU chapter at FUDMA, he wrote: “I am one of the applicants for the post of Vice-Chancellor, Federal University, Dutsin-Ma. I complied with all the criteria outlined in the university’s advertisement. The Council met and conducted a selection process. Shockingly, many of us were eliminated without any valid explanation.
Another contender for the position of vice chancellor, Professor Usman Aliyu Dustinma, has filed a petition to the institution’s Governing Council, alleging bias, irregularities, and a lack of transparency in the ongoing selection process.
In a letter dated April 28, 2025, and copied to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, Prof. Dustinma criticised the process, claiming that merit and due process were being compromised in favour of certain preferred candidates.
He alleged that the exercise was skewed to benefit a specific applicant, in contravention of the advertised criteria and standard procedures guiding the appointment of vice chancellors in Nigerian federal universities.
Both aggrieved candidates expressed satisfaction with the federal government’s prompt intervention in the matter, calling on the Minister of Education to review the entire process in the interest of fairness and institutional integrity.
In a separate open letter to the minister, a legal practitioner, Sulaiman Muhammad Namadi, from Dutsin-Ma, raised additional concerns about the selection process.
Namadi alleged that the outgoing vice chancellor was attempting to impose a preferred successor, potentially at the expense of more qualified candidates.
He called for an immediate investigation and ministerial intervention to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process.
Credit: Dailytrust
