By Amos Aar
THE ACTING Vice Chancellor (VC) of the Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi (MOAUM), Prof. Simon Ubwa, has dismissed fears of a looming strike in the institution following the issuance of strike notices by unions over alleged non-implementation of the new minimum wage.
Revealing that the university’s management has resolved most of the grievances and that the outstanding matter rests on government approval of new salary adjustments following staff promotions, Prof Ubwa also spoke on allegations raised against Dr. Timothy Ornguga, an associate prof of Law at the university, when he was nominated by Governor Hyacinth Alia as commissioner.
The Acting VC, who spoke in an interview with select media houses in his office, also made clarifications on report of certificate delays and student accommodation challenges.
According to him, allowances sourced from internally generated revenue, including postgraduate teaching, sandwich, and SIWES payments, had been cleared, while 126 staff promotions had recently been published by the Governing Council.
“For non-teaching staff, all of them got their promotions. For academic staff, only 20 promotions are outstanding because we are still awaiting external assessors’ reports,” Ubwa stated.
On the minimum wage issue, the VC noted that tertiary institutions were not initially captured in the state wage review process. He however clarified that recalculations had been made to reflect promotions and forwarded to the government, after which a verification exercise was conducted by a high-powered committee involving the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), the Head of Service (HoS), and the Accountant General (AG). He said a memorandum of agreement was subsequently signed by all parties.
He revealed that Governor Alia had recently directed full settlement of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) that had been outstanding for six years, noting that following this, the Governing Council secured a N1.5 billion bank loan to pay the arrears in bulk.
“The university is no longer owing EAA to staff, and we are no longer indebted to any bank,” he said.
Appealing to unions for patience, the VC warned that strike action at this stage would disrupt academic stability.
“As we speak, our staff receive salaries before many federal universities. We only delayed a little in August while trying to resolve this matter,” he stressed.
Responding to the controversy that trailed the nomination of Dr Ornguga, who was controversially cleared and assigned the portfolio as Benue State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order Ubwa described the allegations raised by current and former students of the Faculty of Law as attempts to tarnish the university’s reputation.
He explained that the institution has functional disciplinary committees to handle complaints and that no formal petition was lodged against Ornguga during his service at the university.
He warned that the university may withdraw certificates from graduates who bypass internal channels and make unsubstantiated allegations years after leaving school.
“Ladoke Akintola University once withdrew the certificate of someone who rose to the level of director after he alleged his teacher failed him without evidence. We may initiate similar processes here if such practices persist,” Prof. Ubwa warned.
On students’ accommodation concerns, especially in the College of Health Sciences, the Vice Chancellor said the matter was largely due to nationwide hostel shortages, though new facilities were expected under the federal government’s Needs Assessment Programme.
He said a recent misunderstanding between the university and the College of Nursing students over facilities has also been resolved following intervention by the governor.
Ubwa also addressed concerns about delays in certificate issuance, when asked on the lingering matter. The Registrar, Mr Barnabas Terfa Hemba, who was present during the interview, corroborated the VC, confirming that backlogs had been cleared and a specific case involving a graduate, Smith Akoko, had been resolved after an omission was corrected.
The VC added that any student facing such challenges should approach management directly rather than externalising complaints.
On whether he would apply for the advertised vacancy of the position of substantive Vice Chancellor, Ubwa said he would only do so if God permits, emphasising that leadership should be about service.
For further details, look out for full the interview in our subsequent posts.
