Professors - TheNigerian

ASUU Tells Isa Yuguda to Withdraw Comments, Resign as NOUN Pro-Chancellor Over ‘Contempt for Professors’

TheNigerian — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 08:02:25 +0000

Malam Isa Yuguda, the former governor of Bauchi State, has been called upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi branch, to publicly retract and resign from his position as Chairman of the Governing Council of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) due to remarks that it deemed to be an insult to academic integrity and university autonomy.

Yuguda’s comments during a recent National Assembly public hearing on a measure aiming to convert ATBU Bauchi from a technology-based university to a traditional one “shocked and stunned” ASUU.

This was said in a statement that was shared on the ASUU Facebook site on Wednesday and signed by its chairperson, Comrade Angulu Haruna.

The union demanded immediate action from the NUC’s Executive Secretary, the Minister of Education, the Governor of Bauchi State, and President Bola Tinubu, who was visiting the university.

The union claims that Yuguda declared anyone who opposed the planned change to be a criminal, criminalizing dissent to the law.

Additionally, ASUU cited the former governor as stating, “Who the hell are professors for goodness sake!” in reference to professors who opposed the law.

The comments of former Bauchi State governor Malam Isa Yuguba during a recent public hearing on a bill to convert ATBU Bauchi’s mandate from technology-based university to conventional university in the National Assembly have shocked the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Speaking to the media, Malam Isa Yuguda criminalized anyone who opposed the Bill, saying, “Anyone who is against turning the University into a conventional University is a criminal.”

According to a portion of the statement, “The former Governor was not happy with the professors who spoke against the said Bill because it violated the University autonomy and in registering his frustration, he exclaimed who the hell are Professors for goodness sake!”

The union called Yuguda’s remarks “appalling and unfortunate,” particularly coming from a former state chief executive, and stated that attending a public hearing is a constitutional right.

Yuguda, the current Pro-Chancellor of NOUN, showed what ASUU called “total disregard” for teachers, raising concerns about his competency, ethics, and readiness to manage a university system.

The union also denounced a video statement made public by Alhaji Ladan Salihu, a former director-general of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), in which he allegedly denounced the National Universities Commission (NUC) and ATBU administration for their opposition to the bill.

Salihu’s purported assertion that individuals opposed to the law were “the biggest enemies of the people of Bauchi State” alarmed ASUU, which described the comment as yet another danger to academic freedom and university autonomy.

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Professors Fume Over Minister’s Refusal To Address UniAbuja VC Crisis

TheNigerian — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 07:33:38 +0000

Senior professors at the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) have expressed their outrage over the minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa’s refusal to meet with them regarding the vice-chancellor appointment crisis.
The professors, numbering over 43, lamented that despite multiple attempts to secure a meeting with the minister, they have been left frustrated as the situation continues to deteriorate without intervention.
Speaking in an interview with LEADERSHIP following their neglect at the Federal Ministry of Education on Tuesday, one of the professors, Prof. Edmund Joseph Nwana, expressed frustration over being repeatedly denied a meeting despite three attempts.

He emphasised the urgency of involving senior professors to address the deteriorating situation at the university, particularly the breakdown of irregularities in the appointment of the vice chancellor.

According to him, they left a note on Tuesday in the hope of being contacted by the minister.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the minister of Education, Alausa, had invited the aggrieved professors for a meeting over their complaints regarding the protest against the appointment of Prof. Aisha Maikudi as the substantive Vice-Chancellor, but eventually refused to meet with them.
The meeting was scheduled for 2:00 PM on Tuesday, January 28.

However, after over 15 professors had arrived and waited for hours, the minister’s aide later came to inform them that their principal would not meet with them.

“The professors came around 1:30pm.on Tuesday for a meeting with the minister. Unfortunately, after waiting for hours, the minister’s aide came and told them that the minister was in another meeting, so he couldn’t meet with them.

“Initially, the professors insisted that they would wait even if it would be until midnight. But later, they came to understand that the arrangement was not well-coordinated.

“We couldn’t meet with the minister again. The process was not well-coordinated,” it was gathered from one of the sources.

It would be recalled that the professors had written to the minister and even President Bola Tinubu since December 27, 2024, and also on January 7, 2025.

The petitioners specifically criticized the council’s handling of the vice chancellor appointment process, which they claim was marred by irregularities and a disregard for due process.

They urged President Tinubu to take immediate action to address the situation and restore the integrity of the university’s governance.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Prof. Nwana said, “We have been coming here, this is our third attempt, and we have left documents for the minister.”

He urged the minister to meet with the senior professors from the Senate before things get out of hand on the campus.

“They keep avoiding us. They have not allowed us in, so we are leaving this note. I’m hoping that they will call us,” he said.

Also speaking, Prof. Waziri expressed hope that the meeting would be rescheduled.

“We could not see the Minister because yesterday was the day he had scheduled to see heads of parastatals of his Ministry. So it’s going to be rescheduled, either Thursday or so.”

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UNILORIN Appoints Oloyede, Obafemi, Akanji Emeritus Professors

TheNigerian — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 11:07:31 +0000

The Senate of the University of Ilorin has approved the appointment of three of the University’s retired dons as Emeritus Professors.

The appointees include the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), Prof. Is’haq Oloyede; Prof. Olu Obafemi, and Prof. Musbau Akanji.

UNILORIN’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun, disclosed that the institution’s highest decision-making body, at its 304th meeting gave its nod for the appointment of the trio as Emeritus Professors.

Emeritus Professor Oloyede, who retired from the services of the University of Ilorin in October 2024, is a former vice chancellor of the university and the current Registrar of JAMB.

A renowned scholar of English and Dramatic Literature, Emeritus Professor Obafemi also retired from the services of the University in 2020.

Emeritus Professor Akanji, a former two-time vice chancellor of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, and Federal University of Technology, Minna, is a renowned scholar of Biochemistry. He retired in 2021.

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