Protests over the Sack of 13 VCs

Protests over the Sack of 13 VCs

The Committee of Vice-Chancellors, CVC, has expressed concern over what it described as infringement by the Minister of Education, on the powers of governing councils of universities in recent appointment of vice-chancellors for 12 Federal Universities.

Protests and condemnation have continued to trail the recent decision by the federal government to remove Vice-Chancellors of thirteen universities in Nigeria. It said that the power to appoint vice-chancellors was spelt out in the University Miscellaneous Act, therefore their sacking is illegal.

The latest in the line of protests saw members of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups storm the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja on Wednesday to register their displeasure over the matter.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, the Chairman of the coalition, Mr. Bassey Etuk, said that the action of the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, was illegal.

He said that the sacking of the vice-chancellors and replacing them with people mostly from the same region violated the Federal Character principles.

Some of the placards had the inscription “Six Professors were taken from Bayero University, Kano, as replacements; Why?”

“The tenures of nine of the 13 sacked vice-chancellors expired this Monday, but four others still have their tenure running; some have two years; some have one year and six months.

“What he did, which is most disrespectful to the laws of the land, is that he appointed six people – his friends from one university.

“He appointed six professors from one university, Bayero University, Kano, and he posted them to different tertiary institutions.

“Not only that, he also appointed two professors from Katsina State, making it eight friends from just two states in north.’’

Etuk said that the essence of the protest was to tell the minister that Nigeria was not a sectional country.

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