ASUU: Vice Chancellors manipulating processes of appointments, promotions

The Calabar Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has accused Vice Chancellors (VCs) of public Universities of manipulating the processes of appointments and promotions in the system.

Its Chairman, Dr Aniekan Brown, at a media briefing on Monday in Uyo, specifically accused the University administrators of “rigging the processes”.

“It will shock you to know that in the face of the ongoing industrial dispute by ASUU, COVID-19 lockdown and closure of schools, particularly Universitie, some VCs are rigging the processes of apppointments and promotions.

“In some cases, these illegalities are carried out with the active connivance of staff of IPPIS. Our union will expose these actions and work toward invalidating products of any rigged process.

“There are procedures for appointments and promotions in the University system. But these VCs are conniving with IPPIS staff to raise new sets of apppointments. The qualifications of some of those promoted are in doubt,” Brown claimed.

Brown claimed that the VCs were conniving with the staff of the IPPIS, taking advantage of the closure of Universities and the COVID-19 lockdown, to achieve their plans.

“We will expose the fraud and invalidate products of any rigged process in the Nigeria University system,” he declared.

Brown, a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Uyo, cautioned such VCs against clamouring for the reopening of Universities, saying that their intentions were to exploit Nigerians via high school fees.

According to him, there is no evidence that COVID-19 protocols and adversaries will be abhered to, when such schools reopen.

Brown spoke further: “Some Universities serving as cash cows to government are clamouring for reopening of Universities. The very impetus for this is to continually exploit Nigerians via school fees.

“Regrettably, there is no evidence that the COVID-19 protocols and adversories will be enforced.

“One thing is obvious, they do not care about the safety and lives of Nigerians; all they care is how to exploit the system for their personal benefits. They are capitalists. They are given to cupidity. With this, we have blown the whistle.”

He said that despite the non-payment of salaries, lecturers had resolved to go ahead with the struggle for betterment of public Universities.

“ASUU has come up with the University Transparency and Accountability Solutions (UTAS) as an alternative to the IPPIS. Education managers should subject it to integrity test.

“The ball is in the court of government. We want them to subject UTAS to requisite integrity tests as objectively as possible,” Brown said.