*Says Process May Be Compromised
Outrage has greeted the decision of the Chairman of the Governing Council of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Comrade Fidelis Edeh, to move the interview of aspirants for the position of the 7th Vice-Chancellor from the institution to Abuja.
A statement to that effect was released on Wednesday, giving candidates one week to make preparations for the trip.
It is estimated that the university will spend more than N50 million to fund the logistics of over 40 Council members and management staff for the exercise if it holds in Abuja.
It was gathered that Comrade Fidelis Edeh cited security concerns for the decision, whereas he was on campus on Tuesday to address newsmen.
Stakeholders have described the decision as rash, self-serving, and an affront to the Abia State Government and various security agencies that have not reported any security threat at MOUAU.
In his reaction on Wednesday, a former Secretary to the Abia State Government, Dr. Eme Okoro, said he suspected foul play or compromise for Edeh to move the sitting of the Council from Umuahia to Abuja, with the attendant cost and inconvenience to the aspirants.
Dr. Okoro, who is a statesman, said he was sure that Governor Alex Otti and the security agencies were quite capable of handling any security threat, if that was actually the issue.
He wondered why the Council Chairman did not exhaust consultations with all relevant stakeholders before taking such a weighty decision.
“By implication, the Council Chairman is telling President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Alex Otti that they cannot secure a small place like a university campus for the Council to hold a meeting for the purpose of selecting a Vice-Chancellor.
“The wider implications are that the process for the selection has already been compromised and that those involved know that their actions would be rejected,” the former SSG declared.
He also wondered how people would believe in the credibility and sanctity of the exercise, with the suspicion of compromise hanging over the heads of the Council members.
He recalled that he had personally called Comrade Fidelis Edeh and urged him to ensure transparency in the process for the emergence of a credible scholar as the 7th Vice-Chancellor of the institution.
Dr. Okoro also spoke of the legal and moral issues involved in giving contestants only one week to mobilise to Abuja, whereas in the advertisement for the job they were not told that the venue would be outside Umuahia.
He called on the Council Chairman to immediately rescind the decision before it backfires.
“They should learn from what happened at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, where the Council was obdurate and flagrantly abused the process, only for them to be swept away by Mr President,” he said.
