By Muazu Abari
Yola
Indications emerged within the week that academic activities may soon paralyse at Adamawa State University Mubi, over the appointment of an acting vice-chancellor for the institution.
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian University (SSANU) of the institution had rejected the appointment of Dr. Moses Zaruwa as the acting VC and vowed to do everything possible to ensure that due process was followed in the exercise.
This decision by the two unions came two weeks after Governor Bindow Umaru Jibrilla has sacked the substantive vice-chancellor of the university, Prof. David Joshua and appointed Zaruwa as the acting VC of the institution.
They two unions believed that due process was not followed in the sacked and appointment of new VC for the university even as they also believed that the governor was mislead into taking action despite the good intention of the sacked VC for the university.
Blueprint learnt that some individuals took advantage of absence of constituted governing council misled the governor, describing the action as contravening that aspect of university autonomy and laid down procedures.
Addressing journalists in Yola, the ASUU chairman of the University, Abubakar A. Song said that there was no visitation committee that visited the university as claimed by the government neither was there any form of circular to that effect notifying the constitution of the committee or inviting memorandum from various unions and individuals in the university community in addition to other violations, which indicted the VC that make the exercise to be questionable and unacceptable to the union.
He also explained that, the union has severally written to the government for the urgent need to constitute governing council which is the supreme governing body of the university, but to no avail which led to the breach of the autonomy of the university due to persistent interference in the day to day running of the university.
The union, therefore, called on the state government to revisit and reverse this decision for peace, progress and development to thrive in the university.
On its part, the SSANU chairman, James Kwale Fwa, accused some people in the state ministry of education of conniving with some people in government to caused more crisis in the university.
He equally rejected government decision to appoint a staff from the ministry as the university bursar even when they have deputy bursar and other qualified staff within the system.
SSANU added that the decision “cannot stand s they are in torch with their national and regional bodies but will not disclosed their next line of action if government did not reverse this decision”.
Meanwhile, concerned Adamawa state university staff have also rejected Dr. Moses Zaruwa as the acting VC of the university, accusing him of being responsible for most of the crisis witnessed in the institution.
Specifically, they accused him of creating parallel ASUU executive during the tenure of former VC, Prof. Alkassim Abba, sacking of 25 staff of the university for not completing their studies within 2 years, imposition of mini laptop charges on students at the rate of N60,000 as against N15,000 market values, embezzlement of N73million from the university account, the case which is currently before the EFCC, among other allegations.
