FUTO Vice-Chancellor reverses appointment of 24 aides after ministry intervention

The Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) has withdrawn the appointments of 24 personal aides, a decision that comes after direct intervention from the Federal Ministry of Education. The reversal was communicated through a circular issued by FUTO Registrar, Chiedozie Uba, stating that the appointments, previously announced on June 22, were nullified with immediate effect.

This action followed a letter from the Ministry of Education, signed by Acting Director of University Education Dr. Kareem Olalekan on behalf of Minister Tunji Alausa, which declared the appointments "irregular and at variance with the extant regulations, established procedures, and the principles of due process governing appointments within the Federal University System." The ministry demanded immediate withdrawal and documentary proof of compliance.

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Please refer to our memo Ref: FUT/REG/CR/CIR.4 dated June 22, 2026, on the above subject. “I have been directed to notify the University Community that all the appointments previously conveyed through the above-quoted memo are hereby withdrawn with immediate effect,”

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ikechukwu Dozie, is expected to attend a meeting with ministry officials in Abuja on Monday, June 29, to discuss the matter further. The ministry's intervention underscores a strict adherence to established protocols for appointments within Nigeria's federal universities.

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The attention of the Honourable Minister of Education has been drawn to your Memorandum Ref. No. FUT/REG/CR/CIR/4 dated 22 June 2026 (copy attached) concerning the appointment of twenty-four (24) aides in various capacities within the Office of the Vice-Chancellor. Upon careful consideration of the contents of the memorandum and the circumstances surrounding the appointments, the Honourable Minister is constrained to observe that the appointments, as presently constituted, are irregular and are at variance with the extant regulations, established procedures, and the principles of due process governing appointments within the Federal University System.