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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Culture & Society

MOUAU distances new VC from flawed recruitment

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Michael Okpara University of Agriculture denies its new Vice-Chancellor's involvement in a flawed recruitment exercise concluded before her tenure.
  • The university stated that 618 individuals received appointment letters, exceeding the Federal Government's approved waiver of 426 staff.
  • The university urged the public to rely on official channels for information and disregard unverified reports about the recruitment.

The management of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, has clarified that the current Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ursula Akanwa, bears no responsibility for a recent flawed recruitment exercise. The university stated that the process, including the onboarding of successful applicants onto the payroll, was finalized before Prof. Akanwa assumed office on March 1, 2026.

The crux of the matter is that the Federal Government gave a waiver for the recruitment of 426 staff, a figure which the Governing Council also approved and directed the then Vice-Chancellor/Management to strictly adhere to in conducting the employment exercise.

— Anyaso AnyasoHead of Public Relations and Protocol, explaining the approved staff numbers for the recruitment.

According to Mr. Anyaso Anyaso, Head of Public Relations and Protocol, the Federal Government had granted a waiver for the recruitment of 426 staff, a figure also approved by the Governing Council. However, appointment letters were issued to 618 individuals. Subsequently, 553 individuals were captured on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), which then uploaded only the 426 approved by the government and the council.

"Suffice it to state here that the Vice-Chancellor has no access to the GIFMIS platform to either remove or change any name uploaded," Anyaso stated, emphasizing Prof. Akanwa's lack of control over the system. The university urged the public and stakeholders to disregard "insinuations being peddled by mischief-makers" and to rely solely on official university channels for accurate information.

Ironically, appointment letters were issued to 618 persons, while 553 were captured on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), which then uploaded only the 426 approved by the Federal Government and the Governing Council.

— Anyaso AnyasoDetailing the discrepancy between approved hires and those who received letters and were processed.

Responding to allegations from 127 disengaged staff members who claimed humiliation during the retrieval of their identity cards, the university spokesman denied the use of force. "MOUAU did not issue sack letters and did not use force to obtain their ID cards," he said. The disengaged staff had alleged they were replaced by other employees after losing their jobs and facing mistreatment.

Suffice it to state here that the Vice-Chancellor has no access to the GIFMIS platform to either remove or change any name uploaded.

— Anyaso AnyasoClarifying the current Vice-Chancellor's lack of control over the payroll system.

The university aims to distance its current leadership from the irregularities of the past recruitment process, stressing that the new Vice-Chancellor was not involved in the decisions or execution that led to the over-hiring and subsequent issues with the payroll system.

MOUAU did not issue sack letters and did not use force to obtain their ID cards.

— Anyaso AnyasoDenying allegations of forceful retrieval of identity cards from disengaged workers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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