The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has alleged that vice-chancellors of universities have been flouting due process in staff recruitment.
The national president of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, stated this while speaking during the Heroes’ Day Celebration of the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.
According to Prof Osodeke, VCs have turned staff employment into ‘constituency projects’, with which they settle governors, traditional rulers, politicians, and highly placed people in the country.
He vowed that ASUU would fight the misnomer and ensure that sanity is restored to the system
He said no University in the country has advertised for vacancies in the past six to ten years, lamenting that the staff strength of such universities has tripled as Vice-chancellors have resorted to employing all manners of people from governors and Senators to lecturers.
He said: “I must heartily congratulate all the heroes honoured today for the sacrifices they made to the point of termination of appointments, seizure of salaries, demotion among other travails for speaking truth to powers for the benefit of others.
“Before now, University employment was done through advertisement followed by rigorous interviews but now how do people get here? It is through temporary appointments. That’s the problem that we have today. I do not know of any University for the past six to ten years that has advertised, but the staff strength has tripled.
“Vice-Chancellors just sat down somewhere and packed people from Traditional Rulers, Governors, and all other politicians into the Nigerian Universities as lecturers and most of them are now scavengers in the system, going after money and all manners of things.
“Unfortunately, University employment has turned into a constituency project and we have to struggle to reverse this misnomer and bring sanity to the system.”
In his keynote address, a retired Professor of Ethnocomunicology, Professor Desmond Wilson, lamented that the struggles of the Union have been made difficult by fifth columnists and other agents employed by the government to confuse.
While stressing that heroism was not a blank cheque to misbehaviour, the professor urged all members of the union to remain selfless and committed in the fight for the betterment of all and the redemption of Nigerian Universities from its quagmires.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Nyaudoh Ndaeyo, who was represented by Professor Ben Etuk, commended ASUU for its selfless service to humanity
He noted that the role played by the union has contributed immensely to the better welfare of the University staff and urged the association to remain.
Meanwhile, the University ASUU has doled out over N1.7 million to 15 indigent students of the University who excelled in their academic pursuits and conferred heroes’ awards on its past leaders who led the union through turbulent periods in the history of the branch.
Those honoured for their selfless service include Dr Etop Ndiyo, Professor Desmond Wilson, Professor Edet Akpan, and Professor Joseph Ushie.
Others included Professor Aniesua Essiet and Professor Ashong Ashong
Responding, one of the student beneficiaries of the ASUU-UUB scholarship award, Mr. Ekpo Friday of the Faculty of Education commended the union for the idea of bringing succour to the indigent students of the institution, adding that the gesture was a morale booster for them to concentrate on their studies to finish their University Education with good grades.
In his remarks, acting chairperson, Professor Opeyemi Olajide noted that the gesture was to help push the students who were also noted to be brilliant in their respective faculties to finish their course of study.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
