Saturday, February 7, 2009

UNIBEN defends appointment of Acting VC
From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin

THE management of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) has declared as untrue allegations in some quarters that the appointment of Professor Uche Gbenedio as acting Vice Chancellor of the school had ethnic colouration.

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A group, Concerned Edo Citizens, yesterday in Benin threatened to sue the Federal Government over the appointment of Gbenedio, arguing that due process was not followed in the appointment.

But speaking with The Guardian on phone yesterday, the school's spokesperson, Mr. Eddy Akpomera maintained that there was nothing ethnic in the appointment as there were precedents from similar institutions.

"The University of Benin is a Federal Government institution and we do not condone ethnicity. What happened in the University of Benin was the same thing that applied in other federal universities that the tenures of the Vice Chancellors elapsed. It is on record that in all the other universities, the Deputy Vice-Chancellors (Administration) were those that were appointed. That is the convention and precedent. The Minister appointed them after due consultation with the National Universities Commission (NUC). The same principle was applied at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Usman Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto and then UNIBEN. So, there was nothing that was done in UNIBEN that was ethnic. He or she just takes charge briefly until council comes and anybody who is interested applies. There is nothing ethnic in it, the University of Benin is a Federal Government institution," he said.

But the president of the Edo Citizens Group, Mr. Ralph Adeghe in a press conference urged the Federal Government to resort to due process in the appointment of an acting VC or risk court action. He accused the Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu, of bringing ethnic sentiment into the appointment of Gbenedio.

They said Gbenedio was from the same Igbo ethnic extraction as the minister and the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Prof. Emmanuel Nwanze who is a Delta Igbo.

"The supposedly acting vice chancellor is from the east with the minister. This is another point that the minister is going to introduce tribalism into the Nigerian university system. We are totally against it. With what we have seen is the minister trying to support his sister against other contestants using his office and which is very wrong," he alleged.

Adeghe, who is a lecturer at the Igbinedion University, Okada said the action of the minister and that of Prof. Nwanze contradicted the spirit and letters of what a reputable institution like the University of Benin should be.

Meanwhile, the Students' Union Government (SUG) of the school institution has hailed the appointment of Prof. Gbenedio.

It also lauded the tenure of the out going vice-chancellor, saying the institution witnessed monumental growth during his tenure.

The president, Prince Harrison Ehimiyen, who addressed reporters in Benin City said: "So much has been said about the tenure of our amiable vice-chancellor. However, none of these can be as profound and important as the impact assessment by the students' community. We congratulate Prof. Gbenedio who has always been like a mother to all of us. We, therefore, call on all stakeholders to give her the maximum support and maintain peace on campus. The SUG will do whatever is necessary to sustain the atmosphere of peace that we have enjoyed on campus," he said.