By Muhammad Muntazar
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has launched a scathing critique of the vice-chancellor selection process in Nigerian universities, citing the ongoing controversy at Alvan Ikoku University of Education as emblematic of systemic rot.
In a statement signed by President Christopher Piwuna, the union decried the transformation of universities into political trading posts, stating: “Universities that are built on merit and scholarship have been turned into commodities for politicians and contractors in the appointment of Vice Chancellors.”
The statement specifically condemned attempts to reinstate the acting VC of Alvan Ikoku University despite unresolved questions about her academic promotions.
ASUU painted a grim picture of working conditions for lecturers, who “teach students on empty stomachs and conduct research in libraries and laboratories bereft of essential electronic and physical journals, books, chemicals, and reagents.”
The union lamented the hypocrisy of elites blaming universities for poor graduate quality while academics struggle with unpaid salaries, dilapidated facilities, and mounting personal debts.
The statement highlighted the government’s persistent disregard for collective bargaining, noting that the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement remains stalled eight months after the Yayale Ahmed committee submitted its draft. ASUU traced major disputes since 2012 to violations of the agreement’s core pillars including staff welfare provisions, education funding commitments, institutional autonomy guarantees and regulatory body reforms.
“No memorandum or ‘discussion’ can take the place of a Collective Bargaining Agreement,” ASUU asserted, cataloging a history of unfulfilled MoUs from 2013 to 2020. The union warned that the “flip-flop disposition of successive governments” has created deep distrust that requires extraordinary measures to remedy.
With tensions escalating, ASUU urged public intervention to avert another industrial crisis, emphasizing that Nigerian academics are “tired of governments’ excuses” after eight years of failed negotiations. The statement concluded with an urgent appeal: “The time to act is now!” – positioning the VC selection debacle as symptomatic of broader governance failures in high
er education.