There are rumours that the council lowered the requirements for the job in order to make Prof. Maikudi’s appointment possible. The impartiality and openness of the selection procedure have come under scrutiny as a result of this action.

There have been claims that the University of Abuja’s Governing Council is trying to appoint Prof. Aisha Maikudi, the institution’s acting vice chancellor, as the official vice chancellor.

There are rumours that the council lowered the requirements for the job in order to make Prof. Maikudi’s appointment possible. The impartiality and openness of the selection procedure have come under scrutiny as a result of this action.

Several university sources who talked with SaharaReporters said that Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, the Vice Chancellor in office just before him, was behind the scheme to appoint Prof. Aisha Maikudi. According to sources, Professor Na’Allah wants to make amends for helping Professor Maikudi’s father get the VC post five years ago in spite of strong resistance.

Our sources also revealed that Tahir Mamman, Nigeria’s minister of education, is a part of the scheme. Mamman was appointed Minister of Education by President Bola Tinubu in August 2023.

DAILYPULSE  conducted more research and discovered that the normal minimum post-professorial experience criteria was missing from the university council’s VC position posting. According to reports, Prof. Maikudi, who was appointed to the position in 2022, is qualified for it because of this omission.

Application materials for the substantive Vice Chancellor position at the University of Abuja state that candidates must be “an accomplished Professor in a recognised University, with the ability to provide academic and administrative leadership for the University Community.”

The advertisement noticeably leaves out the particular need of years of post-professional experience.

However, a check of job postings from other universities, such Federal University of Technology Akure and the University of Ilorin, indicates a strict criteria for Vice Chancellor candidates: at least 10 years of post-professorial experience.

An advertisement, for example, that SaharaReporters saw on FUTA’s website said, “The following qualities and qualifications must be possessed by the applicant for the post of Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure: Be a highly respected scholar holding the level of professor with at least ten (10) years of experience at that rank at a reputable institution, with the capacity to lead the university community both academically and administratively.

This disparity calls into question the selection standards used by the University of Abuja as well as any possible exceptions.

According to an insider at the university, vice chancellor candidates at other comparable universities are required to have ten years of post-professorial experience. How can you promote five years and then retract your statement? They reduced the bar.

“We have two advertisements. In the first, they put five years. In the second, Air Vice Marshall Ismaila Saddiq Kaita (retd.), the Chairman of the Governing Council, led them to remove it.”

According to a different source, the university’s governing council is now mired in a succession issue following the resignation of Prof. Na’Allah.

“Last Friday’s session was turbulent due to an attempt by the head of the new governing council and a few others to impose Prof. Aisha Maikudi, the acting vice chancellor, who wasn’t eligible to apply in the first place.

“The newly appointed VC was duped by the outgoing VC. After her father, who is from Katsina, helped Prof. Na’Allah become VC against all odds five years ago, she became a professor in 2022 and was made DVC almost away. In August, Na’Allah was appointed Acting DVC at her father’s request.

“All the requirements were relaxed to make room for the Acting VC, who has only been a professor for two years, when the Governing Council recently posted an advertisement for the position of VC. It is said that the bar was dropped for Na’Allah as well, as just five years of post-patrimonial experience were needed at the time rather than the mandatory ten.

“The start of the manipulation was the reason behind the contentious and crisis-filled council meeting last Friday in Abuja,” the source said. “Most of the council members objected to the Chairman/Pro-Chancellor’s open support of the Acting VC, who is not qualified, in accordance with NUC’s guidelines on VC’s qualification. Some applications and candidates have worked as post-professors for longer than 23 years.

The insider said, “It is believed that the Education Minister, a Fulani from Adamawa State, is involved in the agreement to impose an unqualified VC on the University of Abuja.

Prof. Maikudi was not given any special treatment or consideration by the council since the application process started, according to the university’s Governing Council Chairman, Saddiq Kaita, who refuted this when contacted.

The Acting Vice Chancellor was allegedly the target of a scheme, which he refuted.

She’s simply acting; she hasn’t been verified yet. The board has nothing to do with her acting ability,” he declared. I’m not in the greatest place to explain what happened to you. However, I can guarantee that the council is striving to choose the most qualified candidate to the substantive vice chancellorship at the University of Abuja. She’s just started acting, and no one has confirmed her yet. We are going through a procedure.

The Acting Director of Information and University Relations, Dr. Habib Yakoob, also informed SaharaReporters that the claims that the council is forcing a candidate on the university community are hypothetical and playful.

“The University of Abuja does not currently have a succession crisis for the vice chancellorship,” he said. The vice chancellor job posting was posted on August 26, 2024, and it ended last week. It indicates that candidate applications have not even been tallied.

Only the search and selection committees from the Senate, Congregation, and Council were established at this time. There has been no further action taken.

Therefore, it is entirely hypothetical, immature, and cheeky to recommend that one candidate for VC be given precedence or that they be forced into it.

Given that the council is composed of respectable and trustworthy people, I have no doubt that they will proceed with extreme transparency when it comes to choosing the university’s substantive vice chancellor.

At the time of reporting this article, Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Maikudi and Education Minister Tahir Maman were not available for comment, despite repeated attempts to reach them by phone or text.

Aisha Maikudi, the University of Abuja’s youngest law professor, was named interim vice chancellor by the Senate in June.

Prior to that, Maikudi, a 41-year-old professor of international law, served as the university’s deputy vice chancellor for academic affairs.

On June 30, 2024, Na’Allah concluded his five years as the institution’s leader.