… External Council members boycotts scheduled meeting
Controversy trails the appointment of Aisha Maikudi as substantive Vice-Chancellor for the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) on Tuesday as external members of the Governing Council boycotted the scheduled meeting convened by the Council Chairman, Air Vice Marshal Saddiq Ismaila Kaita (retd).
Kaita, rumored to have a preferred candidate for the position, reportedly called for the council meeting late Monday night, with plans to appoint a Vice-Chancellor by 3:00 PM on Tuesday.
A senior management staff who pleaded anonymity said “the law states that unless the Chairman, two Council members (not members of Senate), and two Senate representatives (not members of Council) are present, any interview conducted for VC selection is null and void. There is no provision for a partial quorum or absence of key members.”
The external council members who boycotted the meeting include: Prof. Raphael Akinfeleye (South-West Representative); Mrs. Chisom Dorcas Obih (South-East Representative); Alhaji Sabo Bappayo Ahmed (North-East Representative).
On Monday 30 December , a group of 67 professors submitted a protest letter to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, calling for the dissolution of the governing council and a fresh start to the selection process.
The professors accused the chairman of rejecting over 87 applications (27 internal and 60 external), inviting only three candidates, and allegedly favoring the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Aisha Maikudi, despite claims that she lacks the required qualifications.
The petitioners further alleged: Internal council members were handpicked by the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah, during an ASUU strike.
The council included unqualified members, such as a businesswoman and a representative from the Federal Ministry of Education, who lacked the expertise required for such roles.
Key criteria for the VC position, such as a minimum of ten years of professorial experience, were allegedly disregarded in the August 2024 advertisement.
They argued that Prof. Maikudi, with only two years of professorial experience, lacks both academic visibility and strong scholarly credentials to hold the office.
In their petition, the professors demanded the nullification of all actions taken by the current Governing Council and called on the education minister to: Dissolve the Governing Council, constitute a new council to oversee a transparent selection process, Ensure adherence to due process and merit-based selection.
The petition warned: “Failure to address these concerns will have far-reaching consequences for the university and Nigeria’s higher education system, as other governing councils might adopt similar flawed processes.”
However the Governing Council of the University of Abuja (UniAbuja), under the chairmanship of Air Vice-Marshal Saddiq Ismaila Kaita, has approved the appointment of Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi as the seventh substantive vice-chancellor of the University.
The appointment was announced during the 77th Extraordinary Meeting of Council on Tuesday, December 31, 2024.
The appointment takes effect from January 1, 2025, and it is for a non-renewable tenure of five years.
A statement signed by the Acting Director of information and University Relations of the University, Habib Yakoob, says Professor Maikudi emerged as the preferred among the ten shortlisted candidates interviewed by the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board of the University, in line with the extant regulations governing the process.
The statement added that before she was appointed the substantive vice-chancellor, Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi served in an acting capacity from July 5, 2024.
“During this period, she worked closely with the Governing Council to stabilise the University through a challenging crisis, demonstrating exceptional leadership and commitment,” the statement read.
Born on 31st January 1983 in Katsina State, Maikudi is a distinguished scholar and professor of International Law at the University of Abuja.
Her educational journey began at Sacred Heart School, Kaduna, where she obtained her First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) in 1993. She proceeded to Queens College, Yaba, Lagos, earning her West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in 1999.
Maikudi’s academic journey took her to the University of Reading, where she earned an LLB in 2004. She further specialised in Public International Law, obtaining an LLM from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2005. After completing her legal education at the Nigerian Law School (2006–2007), she pursued and had a PhD in International Law from the University of Abuja in 2015.
She joined the University of Abuja as a Lecturer II on 4th September 2008 and rose through the ranks to become a professor in 2021.
