Former South-East spokesman to President Bola Tinubu, Josef Onoh, has dismissed allegations that the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, interfered in the administration of the University of Abuja or attempted to influence the appointment of a dismissed lecturer.

In a statement issued in Abuja, Onoh described reports alleging that the minister pressured the university to appoint Professor Hamzat Adebayo to a senior management position as false and misleading.

He said the claims misrepresented the legal framework governing the administration of federal universities.

According to Onoh, the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, as amended by the Universities Autonomy Act, grants federal universities autonomy over personnel management and appointments.

He said the authority to recruit staff, approve inter-university transfers and appoint principal officers rests solely with each institution’s Governing Council and Senate.

“The Minister of Education does not possess the executive or statutory power to unilaterally deploy, transfer, or insert any academic staff into the payroll or administrative structure of an autonomous institution like the University of Abuja,” Onoh said.

He also dismissed claims that the minister facilitated the transfer of the lecturer from the Federal University Dutsin-Ma to the University of Abuja.

According to him, such transfers follow established procedures, including an application by the lecturer, departmental assessment, Senate approval and final clearance by the university’s Governing Council.

Onoh said his discussions with the minister confirmed that the Federal Ministry of Education had no role in internal academic recruitment by universities.

He maintained that Alausa remained committed to due process, merit and institutional autonomy.

“The Honorable Minister for Education Dr. Tunji Alausa remains unswervingly committed to the rule of law, due process, and the preservation of meritocracy across Nigeria’s tertiary education sector,” he said.

Onoh alleged that suggestions that the minister was influencing staffing decisions were intended to tarnish his reputation and create tension within the university community.

He urged media organisations to verify facts and understand the legal framework guiding public institutions before publishing reports based on anonymous sources.

He also called on the public to disregard the allegations, saying the ministry remained focused on implementing reforms to improve the quality, infrastructure and standards of education across the country.