Guardian Nigeria
The recent directive by President Bola Tinubu that the newly reconstituted Governing Councils of Federal Tertiary institutions be reviewed following protests from stakeholders on the composition of the board has again brought to the fore, the issue of whether or not such appointments should be strictly on merit or political patronage, OWEDE AGBAJILEKE reports
President Bola Tinubu may have finally bowed to pressure following public outcry over the approved list of governing Councils of federal tertiary institutions recently released by the Federal Ministry of Education (FME).
Since the list was released, stakeholders including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) as well as Congress of University Academics (CONUA), expressed reservations over the composition of chairmen and members of the councils.
While the unions demanded the reinstatement of the dissolved councils, questioning the credibility of some of the reconstituted members, other stakeholders accused the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, of appointing more persons of Adamawa State origin into the various councils, while other states, such as Niger, have just a few names on the list.
The action, which is said to be against the Federal Character principle governing appointments into public offices in Nigeria, has been condemned by stakeholders and many Nigerians.
An unconfirmed list currently being circulated on social media alleged that 32 persons of Adamawa State origin were appointed into the various councils of the tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, while only about four persons of Niger State origin were appointed.
Specifically, ASUU president, Emmanuel Osodeke, had accused the government of appointing an ex-convict, who was a former acting governor as a member of the reconstituted council. Others also described some of the appointees as ‘political jobbers’ who have not contributed to the educational development of the country.
A lecturer in one of the first-generation universities, who pleaded anonymity, complained about the appointment of 83-year-old former Governor of Ebonyi State, Martin Elechi, saying the appointee had been serving in public office as far back as the ‘70s.
“Why is the government so clueless like this? How can we turn everything to political patronage? Education for that matter! This man called Martin Elechi was once the education commissioner in the old East Central State many years ago. That is quite unfortunate,” the source said.
In a directive by the President, which was announced by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, he ordered a total and comprehensive review of the governing boards days after the initial release of the list by the Ministry of Education.
Specifically, Onanuga expressed dismay that the nominations failed to reflect the federal character of the country, with discrepancies such as some states receiving only one nomination while others had multiple appointees.
The President, in directing a complete review of the list of the members of the governing councils, acknowledged the feedback across the country.
“President Tinubu is committed to ensuring strict compliance with the principle of federal character as entrenched in the constitution. The review will also take into consideration the national spread and ensure every part of the country is adequately represented,” Onanuga stated.
There are also indications that the planned inauguration and retreat for the nominees billed for May 30 and 31 may not hold until wider consultations are made and a new list is announced.
“The Presidency is displeased with the Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) for not consulting widely. The President felt compelled to overhaul the list and address the concerns of Nigerians than allow the error to continue,” a source in the education ministry, who pleaded anonymity, said.
However, Nigerians have expressed divergent opinions over the composition of the councils. While some analysts applauded the Federal Government, others opined that beyond the composition, the list is fraught with square pegs in round holes.
Eleven months after dissolving the governing councils of federal institutions in Nigeria, the Federal Government approved a list of 555 individuals to serve as Pro-Chancellors/Chairmen and members of governing boards of 60 federal universities, 37 polytechnics and 24 colleges of education.
Findings showed that the list comprises technocrats, politicians, religious and traditional rulers as well as retired military and police personnel. But stakeholders in the education sector said the much awaited list fell short of expectations.
According to them, education is a serious business and should not be an avenue for political patronage.
Some of the politicians and appointees on the list include a former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, who heads the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) as Pro-Chancellor; Chief Wole Olanipekun, Pro-Chancellor, University of Lagos (UNILAG); Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Ade Adetimehin, Pro-Chancellor, Federal Polytechnic Ede, Osun State; immediate past Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, who was appointed as Pro-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano (BUK).
Others are Yusuf Ali (SAN), Pro-Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB); Adebayo Raji, member, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA); former Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Victor Ochie, who was appointed as member, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) and Deputy Inspector General of Police, Okoye Celestine (rtd), member, Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, among others.
Findings also revealed that at least two of the recently appointed Pro-Chancellors are also appointees of state governments.
They included the Pro-Chancellor of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi and Chairman of Council, Prof. Attahiru Jega who doubled as Pro-Chancellor, Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and Jerry Eno, Chairman, Abia State Civil Service Commission, who was appointed as Pro-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Babura, Jigawa State.
While there are concerns on whether the laws of the country permit an individual to draw remuneration from state and Federal Government simultaneously, there are also fears as to whether the appointees would acquit themselves creditably in their double roles.
In an interview with The Guardian, human rights lawyer and Executive Director, Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER), Frank Tietie, said board appointments have become political rewards and patronage for both loyal party members and those the government intends to win their favour.
Tietie noted that President Tinubu is only following a tradition established by his predecessors.
On the double appointments, Tietie said it is permissible under the law since they are part-time arrangements.
According to him, an individual could hold several board appointments of agencies so long as they are not direct employees of the government.
“Let us understand the tradition. However, good or bad those board appointments are used by governments as a form of political reward and patronage. Reward to those they perceive as being loyal to the cause of the party. So, it’s a form of reward mechanism for loyal party members.
“Secondly, it is used as a form of currying favour – that is the patronage aspect of it – from those they intend to win their support. So, essentially, that has been the tradition of Nigeria’s political space for many years. Tinubu has not done anything differently from the norm and I emphasise that however good or bad, it is because it ought to have been an opportunity to bring our the best that we have to superintend over these institutions. But that does not count. What counts most is the reward purpose and mechanism that it serves,” Tietie said.
A public affairs analyst, Abdulhakeem Agboola, also said: “Under former president Goodluck Jonathan, Prof. Rufai Alkali, was both the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, and the Chairman, Governing Council of the Federal University of Technology, Minna.
“Governing councils are not full-time positions and do not have statutory remuneration. They only meet a few times in a year and get paid on that basis. We have many professors acting as governing council members or chairmen without needing to take leave of absence as it is required for full-time appointments,” he stated.
However, human rights activist, Echeumunna Nnanna, decried what he called recycled leadership among the elite.
Specifically, Nnanna wondered why a government would reward an individual with double appointments in a country with a population of over 200 million people.
“It is an era of recycling, where the privileged ones and their families corner all the appointments and juicy jobs, while the poor wallow in self pity,” he stated.
ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, said what the union was demanding was the reinstatement of those that were ‘illegally’ dissolved by Tinubu upon assumption of office.
Besides, it queried the composition of the board, saying most of those appointed have not contributed anything meaningful to the education sector.
Similarly, ASUU zonal coordinator, Nsukka Zone, Raphael Amokaha, insisted that appointments to university councils must not be viewed as patronage for political loyalty.
While applauding the decision of the President to review the list of council members, the union urged him not to see it as patronage for political loyalty.
National Vice President, SSANU, Abdussobur Salam, said it is not in the interest of the university system that the issue was dragged and allowed to delay.
Salam said if the president wanted to dissolve the councils at the beginning of his administration, there should have been an immediate replacement.
According to him, not having government councils has far reaching implications on the governance of universities.
He said: “There are lots of powers that are bestrode on council and cannot be bestowed on any other organ of the university or external institutions. In the last one year, what we have been experiencing in institutions, that for a lot of approvals, they have to go to the federal Ministry of Education, which, to a large extent, is an aberration because the Ministry of Education is not known to law as far as the governance of universities are concerned. So, to that extent, even some of the approvals that have been gotten at that level are contestable.
“On the other hand, we also have a situation where vice-chancellors become almost autocratic because they become alternatives to council. Some of the powers that councils should have exercised were also exercised by the vice-chancellors.
So, for us as a union, we believe that even the ranking of universities, there is also an aspect of world global ranking of universities that has to do with the governance structure of universities; where you have aberrations, it reduces the ranking.”
Salam concurred that appointment of chairmen and members of councils, boards, department and agencies is usually political but said the government has a responsibility to consider people who have the interest of the university system at heart.
“One of those realities that those political appointments have thrown up has been the fact that at the end of the day, those people who are appointed see it as their own opportunity to milk the county dry or have their own share of the national cake.
“One of those things we have always agitated for is that somebody who is appointed a member of the governing council of a university should be somebody who has also passed through a university to appreciate things better than somebody who has not passed through a university at all,” he added.
Similarly, the National President of CONUA, Niyi Sunmonu, said the action of dissolving the councils in the first instance did not conform to the provisions of the Autonomy Act.
Sunmonu said while the association appreciates the President’s directive to reconstitute the councils, some universities are still left out.
While councils of 60 out of 62 federal universities were reconstituted, Sunmonu said there are also some inter-university centres like the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja, that were left out.
“It would have been nice if the error of dissolution was corrected because the councils were dissolved in error. We, however, accept it to the extent that the institutions are not left to the whims and caprices of vice chancellors, to run it the way they like. Leaving the universities without councils is like giving some vice chancellors privileges to do whatever they like, which is not good for university education in the country,” Sunmonu added.
