Reps’ efforts ongoing to recover UNIABUJA hectares revoked by Wike

Ifeyinwa Susan Francis

The House of Representatives Committee on University Education halted the appointment process of a new vice-chancellor for the University of Abuja.

This was due to the pending outcome of the ongoing investigation into the leadership tussle rocking the institution.

Chairman of the committee, Rep. Abubakar Fulata (APC-Jigawa), made this known in a statement on Friday, after a roundtable with the acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Patricia Lar.

Fulata appealed to the various parties to embrace dialogue to ensure stable academic activities. “The procession for the emergence of a new VC was put on hold until the controversies in the leadership tussle are addressed”

“The committee, under my leadership, is completely against anything that will affect the calendar and smooth running of the university system,” he said.

The lawmaker stated that after receiving petitions about the dismissal of some vice-chancellors. Also the dissolution of governing councils. the committee initiated an investigation to verify due process.

He added that efforts continue to recover the 7,000 hectares of land the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, revoked from the UNIABUJA

The legislator said that the intervention followed a petition submitted by the university’s Alumni Association, seeking the committee’s intervention.

“The House Committee on University Education has taken a step to intervene on the revocation of about 11,000 hectares of land belonging to the University of Abuja by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nyasom Wike.

“The decision of his committee’s intervention was sequel to a petition by the University of Abuja Alumni Association, seeking the intervention of the parliament.

“The association noted that the FCT minister is seizing 11,000 hectares of land from the University of Abuja while leaving the school with only 4,000 hectares,” he said.

Lar said she had less than one month left to complete her six-month mandate. Her task was to manage the institution’s affairs before appointing a permanent vice-chancellor.