In response to the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) recent ultimatum, the Federal Government has announced the members of the governing councils for 111 tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
This includes universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
ASUU had criticized the government’s decision to dissolve existing governing councils, demanding their reinstatement and the implementation of other union requests.
ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, emphasized that the union’s demands extend beyond the reinstatement of governing councils and include various unresolved issues.
Prominent figures on the newly unveiled list include former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega; Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Wole Olanipekun and Yusuf Alli; former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Peter Okebukola; and labor activist, Issa Aremu.
Jega will chair the governing council of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, while Olanipekun, Alli, Okebukola, and Aremu will lead the councils of the University of Lagos, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, University of Port Harcourt, and Federal College of Education (Technical), Keana, respectively.
Additional notable appointments include former Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, as chairman of the National Open University of Nigeria’s council; former Senator Joy Emordi at Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri; and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed, at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The immediate-past Executive Secretary of the NUC, Adamu Rasheed, will chair the governing council of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo.
The Federal Ministry of Education, through a statement signed by Permanent Secretary Didi Walson-Jack, confirmed the appointment of five members for each of the 50 universities, 37 polytechnics, and 24 colleges of education. An inauguration and retreat for the new governing council members is scheduled for May 30 and 31 at the National Universities Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
In June 2023, President Bola Tinubu dissolved the governing councils of major government agencies, including higher education institutions. Responding to this development, ASUU President Osodeke reiterated the union’s stance, stating that the government has not addressed their core demands and emphasized the call for reinstating the previously dissolved councils rather than forming new ones.
