Education

Polls: VCs, ASUU disagree as FG shuts varsities

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    The Academic Staff Union of Universities has condemned the National Universities Commissions’ (NUC) directive to the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities that universities be closed to allow students to vote in the upcoming general elections.


    The     NUC issued the directive in a letter to all university vice chancellors and directors of inter-university centers on Tuesday.

    The commission noted that the directive was based on the instruction of Adamu Adamu, Minister of Education.

    “As Vice-Chancellors of all Universities and Directors/Chief Executives of Inter-University Centres, we are well aware that the 2023 general elections are scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 25, 2023, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, and Saturday, March 1, 2023, for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections,” the letter read in part.

    “In view of the foregoing and concerns expressed about the security of staff, students, and properties of our respective institutions, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has, following extensive consultations with the relevant security agencies, directed that all universities and Inter-University Centres be shut down and academic activities be suspended between February 22 and March 14, 2023.

    As a result, this circular requests that Vice-Chancellors and Chief Executives of Inter-University Centres close their respective institutions from Wednesday, February 22, 2023, to Tuesday, March 14, 2023.”

    However, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, National President of ASUU, explained that universities had never been closed due to elections, and that the closure and reopening of universities was the prerogative of university Senates.Vice-Chancellors do not have the authority to close universities. The Senates of universities have sole authority to open or close universities.

    “Things have gone so bad in this country that they are citing security and for this reason, we, as a union, had to look on.Have we ever closed universities or polytechnics during previous elections? So, what went wrong?Why are you so desperate? Why are Nigerians being punished? We need to question Nigerian leaders because we are trying to make up for lost time, and you are closing down universities.” 

    However, Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, Secretary-General of the CVCNU, disagreed with the ASUU President, claiming that Nigeria had always closed universities during elections.
    “It’s nothing new; most public universities close during elections because many of them house polling units, and universities and their communities always vote on campuses,” he said.
    “Two reasons why universities are shut down during elections are so as not to disenfranchise the people and to give opportunity to those who registered away from the university to be able to vote.
    This is something that universities have been doing for as long as I can remember, so it is not novel.The directive comes from our regulatory body, NUC; it is up to universities to figure out how to manage it, and it is up to the VCs to internalize it.”
    Mr Anderson Ezeibe, National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, also spoke, stating that the polytechnics regulatory body, the National Board for Technical Education, had yet to issue a directive.
    However, he maintained that the closure and reopening of institutions were decisions to be made by the Senates of the institutions.
    “We are waiting for our regulatory body but they have not made any pronouncement.
    NUC mentioned security, and they are the best people to tell us what security information they have.
    However, I continue to believe that the decision to close or not to close should be made by the Senate of the universities, not the NUC.”
    Usman Barambu, President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, welcomed the NUC’s directive. “That directive is the result of our efforts,” he explained.
    When rumors spread that schools would be opened during the election season, we met with the Minister of Education.
    The minister assured us that no schools would be opened and that directives would be issued to the appropriate agencies.
    “Not only universities, but also polytechnics, colleges of education, and all tertiary institutions of learning, would be closed.
    You’d start hearing from them very soon.”
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