The senate of the University of Ibadan will hold a special meeting on Monday to select an acting vice-chancellor.
The notice for the special meeting was issued in a memo signed by Morenike Afolabi, deputy registrar, senate, admission and affiliated institutions (SAAI), according to News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN)
“Agendum: Selection of one of its members as Ag. Vice-Chancellor (The candidate must not be one of the contestants for the position of Vice-Chancellor). Please attend and be punctual,” the memo read.
In a letter dated November 27, 2020, the National Universities Commission directed the governing council of the university to appoint someone who would serve in acting capacity to take over from Idowu Olayinka, the outgoing vice-chancellor.
In the letter addressed to the institution’s pro-chancellor, Abubakar Rasheed, NUC executive secretary, said the selection of an acting vice-chancellor is to avoid the vacuum that would be created since a new VC is yet to be appointed.
According to NAN, Nde Joshua Waklek, pro-chancellor of the institution, has also been summoned to Abuja by the NUC.
This comes hours to the end of the tenure of Olayinka. The selection process for his replacement has begun afresh.
Adamu Adamu, minister of education, was said to have ordered the recommencement of the selection process, following the controversy that has trailed the exercise so far.
The minister also directed that all 18 persons who applied for the position should be invited for a fresh screening.
A previous selection process was suspended by the governing council, following a protest by the Joint Action Committee (JAC), comprising members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) in October.
The unions had claimed that the five-person selection committee for the appointment of a new vice-chancellor had been compromised.
In line with the directive of the minister, the senate held a meeting on Wednesday to select two members who will be part of the joint council/senate representatives to conduct fresh screening exercise for applicants.
The event witnessed tight security presence around the building where the meeting was held within the university premises.
Speaking on the security presence at the institution, Sunday Saanu, media assistant to the vice chancellor, told TheCable that there was no cause for alarm.
“I’m on the campus as I’m talking to you. Campus is calm; there’s no problem. It’s normal when you want to have that kind of democratic exercise, you want to have security around to forestall any unpalatable situation. That does not suggest that you have brought the whole barracks or police station to UI. The meeting was concluded long ago and there wasn’t any drama or cause for trouble,” Saanu had said.
In his speech during this year’s convocation ceremony which held earlier in the month, President Muhammadu Buhari had warned the university authorities against manipulating the selection process.
Buhari, who was represented by the executive secretary of NUC, had said his administration would not hesitate to take against action against any governing council found guilty of corruption.
