Our VC Is An Emperor, Covering Up Fake Degree Holders – AAU ASUU

The Ambrose Alli University chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU has petitioned the pro-chancellor of the university decrying what it claimed as the authoritarian disposition of the vice-chancellor of the university, Prof. Ignatius Omimawo.

The union in a memo obtained by gwg.ng averred that the vice-chancellor as part of his agenda of sustaining his authority had also hindered the rooting out of those with fake degrees in the university. Besides the vice-chancellor was accused of allowing the employment of non-qualified persons, including his wife as lecturers in the university.

The union said that in desperation that the vice-chancellor commenced a witch-hunt of the members of the union with the removal of union officials from positions as a way of weakening the resolve of the union.

The petition signed by M. L. Igbafen, Ph.D  and A.A Aizebioje-Coker, Ph.D chairperson and secretary respectively of the union read in part:

“The Unions warning is that the recent desperation of the Vice-Chancellor to

truncate the national strike in the Branch and balkanize the Union should

be perceived as what it truly is:  play-acting as a good boy. His attitude

should be viewed with utmost suspicion. In fact, the Union views the

Vice-Chancellors recent actions as a calculated attempt to cause

disaffection between the Union and the Council, a Council which the

Vice-Chancellor never wanted to be in place as he has been totally

exhilarated running the University as a sole administrator.

“The Union can justifiably argue that the current Council of the University is a product

of the struggle of the Union in the Branch, having repeatedly engaged the

Visitor to the University and Executive Governor of Edo State coupled with

intense pressure on the Visitor, on the need to constitute a new Governing

Council for the University after more than one year of the expiration of

the previous one. In fact, the Union had to resort to the declaration of a

trade dispute with the Government in order to achieve this. In fact, the

Vice-Chancellor was not and is still not pleased with the Union till date

because of the Union’s position and agitation for the constitution of the

present Governing Council of the University.

“The vacuum created by the absence of a Council for more than one year made a dictator out of the Vice-Chancellor during which period he managed the University like an emperor whose words were law and who could do anything without recourse to due process, regulations, rules and laws establishing the University. In

many cases, recruitment and conversion of staff were arbitrarily carried

out during the period and indeed approvals were not sought from appropriate

higher authority. There was and still is a reign of intimidation and

oppression of staff, impunity and a collapse of the Committee System of the

university administration.

“It is for the foregoing explained reasons that the Union strongly appeals

to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council to take time to understand

the University in its past and recent history with particular reference to

the relationship between the Vice-Chancellor and ASUU in the Branch. In

other words, the Union urges the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council to

understand that the existing frosty relationship between the Union and the

Vice-Chancellor, and his consequent overt and covert aggression against the

Union, the incumbent Chairman and members of the Executive Committee of the

Branch, could best be understood in the context of the past and current

perceived outrageous misdeeds of the Vice-Chancellor since he assumed duty

more than two years ago.

“We, as a Union, have pointed out these outrageous misdeeds and

maladministration for which the Union is not willing or ready to

compromise. The Vice-Chancellor had made several unsuccessful overtures to

the Branch Chairperson and some members of the Branch EXCO to play down on

these vexatious issues. Rather than choose the path of honour, the

Vice-Chancellor preferred blackmail, intimidation, repression, oppression,

dictatorship and outright decimation of the Union in the Branch.

“Thus, the frosty relationship between the Union on one hand and the

Vice-Chancellor and his few supporters on the other, has been on even

before your Council was constituted.”

“The first identifiable source of disagreement between the Union and the

current Vice-Chancellor is Irregular employments/appointments, placement

and conversion, in the University. Sir, our Union observed with dismay that

within the time space/limit of one year in office, our institution was hit

by a gale of random employment/recruitment of staff into the University. In

particular, the Union was inundated with reports that wives/relatives of

the cronies of the Vice-Chancellor were massively recruited and that well

over 90 appointments had been secretly made in the University without

internal and external advertisement as stipulated by the law, thus

foreclosing competitiveness and transparency in the entire process.

“Closely related to this were the worrisome reports of arbitrary creation of the

office of the Deputy Provost of the College of Medicine that is not known

to the University Law and the placement or ranking of appointments as

evident in the decision of the University Administration, for instance, to

offer academic appointment to a clear beginner in academics to the rank of

Lecturer 1. The wife of the Vice-Chancellor was incidentally one of such

cases of arbitrariness of conversion, placement or ranking of staff. By the

extant Staff Regulation and Schemes of Service for Senior Staff of the

University, for a freshly appointed academic staff to get a direct

appointment to the rank of Lecturer 1, he/she must possess a Ph.D in the

relevant discipline in addition to certain number of publications as well

as have garnered university teaching experience for a period of not less

than 3 years as a Lecturer 11. Available records indicate that the

Vice-Chancellors wife so appointed to the rank of Lecturer 1 then did not

possess a Ph.D and the required publications to merit such an appointment.

Having reviewed the qualifying conditions for the accession to the rank of

Lecturer 1 as contained in our extant staff regulation and schemes of

service, the Union felt that Mrs. Jane Onimawo did not possess the

requisite qualifications and experience for that position. The said Mrs.

Jane Onimawo was until her current appointment, a Chief Instructor, which

is not known to our University’s Law and regulation and schemes of service

in the University.

“Furthermore, the said Mrs. Onimawo has no academic Masters Degree. She possesses Masters of Public Administration (MPA), not Masters of Science (M.SC) which the law recognizes as an academic masters degree. The Union views the information that she was a Chief Tutor and holder of MPA degree as inadequate to merit her movement straight to Lecturer 1. In fact, it can easily be confirmed that some other lecturers appointed at the same time (2016) and with MA/MSC degrees, were placed as Assistant Lecturers. The Union therefore wonders what criterion/criteria was/were used in the circumstance. On receipt of all these, the Union felt compelled to write through the Vice-Chancellor to the Pro-Chancellor and

Chairman of Council then on the need to respect the University Laws, rules

and regulations on matters of appointments, conversion/placements and

promotions in the University without any sense of favouritism, nepotism and

other primordial considerations (see annexure I, sir, for the Unions letter

on Irregular Appointments and Promotions in the University: A Call for

Return to due Process. There were other similar cases.

“The second issue on which the Union has insisted that the right thing be

done concerns the alleged existence of fake certificates in the University.

Sir, sometimes in July 2016, the present Vice-Chancellor raised a very

disturbing alarm on the floor of Senate meeting of the University about the

alleged possession of fake certificates, with particular reference to Ph.D

degrees, by some staff in the University. On receipt of the information,

our Union felt disturbed and listed the matter for discussion at our

Congress meeting of August 30, 2016. After exhaustive deliberation on it,

our Congress expressed worry on receipt of the news about the alleged

possession of fake Ph.D certificates by some of its members and resolved

that EXCO should write to the University Administration to do the needful

to fish out the culprits. In the view of Congress, this matter cannot and

should not be swept under the carpet and resolved to monitor developments

on it. This was immediately communicated to the Vice-Chancellor. Shortly

after this, the Union received a letter from the University Administration

conveying the setting up of a Committee to carry out investigation into

staff certificates in the University and requested the Union to send its

nominee-member. This we swiftly did.

“It may interest the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council to note that

having waited for so long without hearing anything concrete on the matter

of fake certificates, the Union again met on Tuesday 24th January, 2017 to

review developments on fake certificates. Recalling its resolution of

August 30, 2016 on the alleged possession of fake Ph.D certificates by some

of its members, we expressed serious concern over the seeming silence in

investigating the alleged possession of fake (Ph.D) certificates by some

staff in the University. Consequently, Congress resolved that a letter of

reminder should be written to the University Administration to immediately

act decisively (See annexure II, sir, for this letter). We further resolved

to do everything legally possible to ensure that the matter was not swept

under the carpet. With this undisguised cooperation of the Union with the

University Administration to sanitise the University, it is sad to inform

the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council that nothing concrete had been

heard about this matter even now.

“The Union has been insisting on the need for the University Administration

to follow up its allegation of the existence of fake Ph.D degrees in the

University with concrete action, but to no avail. The Union has it on good

authority that the Vice-Chancellor may be covering up for certain staff in

the University with questionable certificates/Curriculum Vitae and who have

been promoted to the rank of Professor but are cooperating with the

Vice-Chancellor to run the University with iron fists.”

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