The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized the federal government’s direct involvement in the appointment of Vice Chancellors for public universities, insisting that the process should be handled exclusively by the institutions’ governing councils.
ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, made this known in an interview with Nigerian Tribune, where he argued that political interference in the appointment process often undermines university autonomy.
According to Osodeke, the law clearly outlines the procedure for selecting a Vice Chancellor, which should be strictly adhered to in order to avoid unnecessary controversies. He explained that the governing council of a university is responsible for the entire selection process, from shortlisting candidates to conducting interviews and making a final selection. The chosen candidate is then sent to the President, who is the visitor to the university, through the Minister of Education for ratification.
“The council will constitute a selection committee made up of members of the Senate and Council, which will interview shortlisted candidates. The best three candidates will then be recommended to the larger council, which will conduct a final review and pick one for the position,” Osodeke said.
He further noted that the council is not obligated to select the candidate with the highest score from the interview process, as long as a clear and justifiable reason is provided for the final choice.
Osodeke urged the government to completely withdraw from the selection process to maintain transparency and fairness, citing recent cases where external interference influenced Vice Chancellor appointments.
“What we are seeing nowadays, like the recent case of Admiralty University of Nigeria, is about external interference from the government, where certain candidates are labeled as the choice of the President or Minister. This is not how the process should work,” he stated.
ASUU reiterated that adherence to due process would prevent unnecessary disputes and ensure that universities maintain their autonomy in leadership selection.
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