The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has urged the federal government to immediately reinstate the vice chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Vincent Tenebe and three others whose tenure were yet to elapse but were erroneously included among the 13 vice chancellors who were sacked by the minister of education.
The CNPP in a statement by its Secretary general, chief Willy Ezugwu also condemned the “erroneous” included the name of the Vice Chancellor of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Vincent Tenebe for sack, stressing that his tenure is yet to elapse.
It stated that the action of the minister contravened laid down rules and could lead to industrial unrest in the education sector. He stressed that the Governing council empowered by law to recommend the sack of the NOUN VC has not recommended any of such action, hence the action of the minister runs against the rule of law which the current administration has sworn to uphold.
The CNPP urged president Muhammadu Buhari to immediately call the minister to order, stressing that the action of the minister will only attract more chaos in our universities.
Ezugwu said the CNPP and other civil society organizations will on Wednesday stage a peaceful protest in Abuja, to call for the resignation of the minister of education
It would be recalled that Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu had in a short statement on Saturday, simply said President Muahammadu Buhari, has approved the appointment of new vice chancellors for the universities.
But the CNPP described the actions of the minister as reckless, while also faulting “the deliberate decision of the minister to replaced the vice chancellors with his northern kinsmen.”
The CNPP said the action of the minister contravened the university miscellaneous Act No.25, 1996 and further amended in 2003 and 2012 respectively and other agreements as contained in the 2009 FGN staff union agreement.
He pointed that four out of the 12 newly appointed vice chancellors are from Kano University, an action he said, was a clear violation of the federal character principle
He urged human rights activists and those in the academia to rise up and speak up against the sack
He said, “We received the news of the sack of the vice chancellor of NOUN and 12 others with shock. It is obvious that the minister of education is yet to abreast himself with the laws governing university system in Nigeria. We like to say the sack was done in bad taste and urge the minister to immediately reverse such sack”
