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Voice of African Universities Defends University of Abuja VC Amid Controversial Petition

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<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"QwS2CW10" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>A group&comma; the Voice of African Universities &lpar;VAU&rpar; has labelled a petition submitted to the Honourable Minister of Education&comma; Dr&period; Morufu Olatunji Alausa&comma; alleging a breach of federal guidelines in the appointment of Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi as the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja&comma; as baseless and archaic&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"i1SaylDS" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>The group in a press statement sent to the press on Thursday and signed by its Director Public Relations&comma; Jean Luck Aglogan&comma; said the controversial petition hinges on a primitive argument that a Vice-Chancellor must possess 10 years of post-professorial experience&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;This outdated notion undermines the evolution of global academia&comma; where merit and innovative leadership have become the hallmarks of university administration&period; The issue of years post professorial experience is an old thing as even in Nigeria&comma; there are many universities whose Vice Chancellors were appointed without such clause and a typical example is the Usman Danfodio University Sokoto&comma;” it said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>VAU emphasized that Professor Maikudi’s extensive leadership experience far surpasses the traditional requirement&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Her cumulative roles as Deputy Vice-Chancellor&comma; Dean of the Faculty of Law&comma; and Head of the Department of Public Law more than qualify her for the position&comma;” the group argued stating that to insist on such limiting requirements in the 21st century is both regressive and counterproductive&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"Guh2Y6OS" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Highlighting Professor Maikudi’s international reputation and contributions to the evolution of the university of Abuja since assuming office&comma; the group said&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;under her leadership&comma; the University of Abuja has gained visibility on the global stage&period; She represented the institution at conferences in Japan and Paris&comma; effectively positioning it as a hub of excellence&period; Before her tenure&comma; many didn’t even recognize the university’s potential&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In an appeal to the minister&comma; VAU urged the Minister to adopt a forward-thinking approach in handling the petition&comma; stating that&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;as a scholar with international exposure&comma; particularly in the United States&comma; the Minister understands the need for innovative leadership in academia&period; We call on him to revisit outdated laws like the 10-year post-professorial requirement&comma; which exclude many of the brightest minds from contributing to university leadership&comma;” the group said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The VAU further alleged that the petition was driven by ulterior motives&comma; accusing the Chairman of the Governing Council&comma; Air Vice Marshal Saddiq Isma’ila Kaita &lpar;Rtd&rpar;&comma; of orchestrating a campaign to discredit Professor Maikudi&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It is no secret that Professor Maikudi’s refusal to succumb to Kaita’s militaristic style of governance has made her a target by him&comma;” the group claimed&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>They also criticized the broader trend of appointing retired military personnel as pro-chancellors of universities&comma; stating that universities are centers of knowledge and innovation&comma; not military barracks and as such the imposition of a rigid&comma; hierarchical approach stifles academic freedom and development&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The group concluded by reaffirming its support for Professor Maikudi’s confirmation as the substantive Vice-Chancellor&comma; expressing that by virtue of her education&comma; experience&comma; and vision&comma; Professor Maikudi is the ideal leader for the University of Abuja&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It is imperative that the Minister recognizes her contributions and elevates her to the position she rightfully deserves as the substantive vice chancellor of the university&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"autorelaxed" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1004305389"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

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