By James Agomuo
There seems to be no end to the controversies that have plagued the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO). Reliable information at our disposal has revealed that questions for the recently concluded promotion examination from the rank of Principal Assistant Registrar to Deputy Registrar (CONTISS II 13 – CONTISS II 14) was leaked.
The questions for the CBT examination which took place on Monday, 22nd of November, 2021 was reportedly leaked by a staff who also happens to be the wife of a former member of the University’s Council and a professor in the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology.
It was reliably gathered that out of about 74 candidates who sat for the examination, 10 passed the cut off mark of 75%. An aggrieved staff who spoke to our correspondent said that majority of the candidates who scaled the high cut off mark were those who benefited from the leakage of the examination questions.
The staff further stated that the inability of many of these candidates to answer correctly, questions put to them during the oral interview which took place last Friday, clearly exposed the fact they passed the examination with “expo”. Sadly, the staff went ahead to decry the decline in the standard of administration which according to her was occasioned by the promotion of mediocrity in the university system. Stressing that unlike in the past, the university management no longer promotes senior staff based on merit but on nepotic and other unfounded reasons.
Further investigations has also revealed that promotion to the rank of Deputy Registrar in the university has become excruciatingly difficult for inexplicable reasons. That probably accounts for the reason why over 130 senior staff of the university are presently stagnated on the rank of Principal Assistant Registrar. A situation which is quite different in other universities in the country.
Recently, it was reported that the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RUST) promoted over 40 of their staff to the rank of Deputy Registrar. A fit which according to information available to us has never been achieved in FUTO. Why promotion to the rank of Deputy Registrar in FUTO has remained akin to a Camel passing through the eye of a needle, remains a mystery to be solved by the relevant government authorities.
However, another staff who spoke under the condition of anonymity suggested that the reason may not be unconnected to the issue of “ghost workers”. The staff said that prior to the university’s enrollment into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information (IPPIS), the staff verification exercise carried out by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, during the immediate past administration of the former Vice Chancellor, Prof F. C Eze, revealed over 600 ghost workers in the payroll of the university, a good number of whom were on the rank of Deputy Registrar.
The staff further revealed that the university administration covered up the mess by carrying out massive employment of new staff whose employment letters were backdated in order to reconcile the records. The staff added that even the wife of the immediate past Registrar, Mr. John. U Nnabuihe who is one of the beneficiaries of the “emergency” recruitment, was employed on the rank of Principal Assistant Registrar contrary to the university regulations.
According to the staff, the presence of ghost Deputy Registrars in the university’s payroll made it very difficult for staff on the rank of Principal Assistant Registrar to be promoted after 3 years as provided by the university regulations. That is why many staff have remained on that same rank for over 10 years. Stating that a forensic staff audit of the university would expose a lot.
FUTO has been enmeshed in a lot of crisis in recent past. Not long ago, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had accused the management of foul play in the appointment of a serving Minister of the Federal Ministry of Communication & Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, a professor in a department of the university. A report from the University’s branch of the Union had cleared the university management of any wrongdoing. But the national leadership of the Union had rejected the FUTO branch’s report and set up a review committee.
