The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Wednesday demanded the reinstatement of the sacked Vice Chancellors of the 13 FederalUniversities established by the administration of former President, Goodluck Jonathan.
12 VCs, as well as that of the National OpenUniversity of Nigeria, Prof. Vincent Tenebe, were fired by Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, recently. The Governing Councils and Boards ofthe institutions were also dissolved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
But President Buhari, during the National Executive Council meeting of the All Progressives Congress, apologized for the action to dissolve the governing councils and boards of the institutions.
Following the apology by the president, NANS National President, Tijani Usman Shehu, at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, urged Adamu to do the “needful” by reinstating the sacked VCs.
He said the association would continue to press home its demands if the Federal Government refused to reinstate the VCs.
Tijani said: “The unjustly sacked Vice Chancellors should be reinstated immediately in consonance with Mr. President apology and spelt out universities rules.
“We are dismally dismayed by the fact that the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, has remained hesitant in doing the needful which is the reinstatement of the sacked Vice Chancellors which was wrongfully done.
“Rather the minister has chosen to give diverse counter- interpretations to Mr. President’s apology just to soothe his whims and ego whereas the President categorically stated that there are specifically spelt out roles for which the Governing Councils are meant to perform and which cannot be usurped such as appointment of Vice Chancellors.
“Clearly, Mallam Adamu’s refusal to take the right path has demonstrated his contempt and disregard for our dear president, Muhammadu Buhari. On the heels of this, we herein state our resolve to peacefully press until the right thing is done with respect to the sack of the 13 affected Vice Chancellors of Federal Universities.”
Tijani said that the sacking and subsequent hiring of new VCs for the institutions did not follow due process.
According to him, the association has not received any response to the several letters written to the Ministry of Education through the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Folashade Yemi – Esan.
He therefore, asked the minister to resign for misleading Buhari into firing the VCs.
Tijani said: “The minister should tender an unreserved apology to Nigerian students and the entire academic community for his misleading actions and statements thus far. Conversely, he should resign his appointment. Obviously the Vice Chancellors’ appointment of Adamu did not follow due procedure since no board sat down to consider and interview prospective candidates for the said appointments.
“The National Association of Nigerians Students has vowed to pursue this just cause for the right thing to be done in our universities.We have peacefully taken our cry to Mr. President who gave his favorable attention and followed same with a sincere apology.
“Our demands have also been tabled before the National Assembly which has also empathized with us and waded in to resolve the crisis. The minister of education on the contrary has adopted an adversarial approach to our genuine demand choosing instead to harass the never intimidated Nigerian Studentsvia arrest by men of the Nigerian Police
Force until the IGP graciously intervened.
“All eyes and attention was thus fixated on the minister of education who in the first instance misdirected the Federal Government.”
