Group Accuses Edo Varsity VC of Overstaying His Tenure

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

A crisis is brewing in the Edo State University, Uzairue, Etsako West over the alleged continued stay in office of  the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Emmanuel Aluyor.

The second term tenure of vice chancellor was said to have terminated on November 28, 2023 , after he served eight years.
Since then, his continued stay in office has led to some disquiet within the academic circle as well as the stagnation of his possible successors.
A socio-political group known as The Edo Consciousness (TEC) said it believes the sit-tight posture of Aluyor goes against the letter and the spirit of the regulations established by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and vowed to resist it .

In a press statement at the weekend signed by its ‘protem’ Chairman, Mr. Johnny Ogbode, it said the continued stay of the vice chancellor, even after the expiration of his tenure, was not tenable in law.

The group called on the relevant authorities to wade in to fend off any breakdown of law and order that may ensue if the situation is allowed to persist.
The Edo state university was established during the second term of the former Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomole, now a serving Senator.

According to the group, Aluyor has made it extremely difficult to find suitable successors by the governing council of the institution, noting that the governing council was expected to appoint an acting VC on November 29, 2023 and initiate the process of finding a substantive successor.
Ogbode said Aluyor had embarked on clandestine moves to frustrate other qualified candidates from taking over from him, even if it means doing so in an acting capacity.

The group cited the instance of the duo of Prof Vincent Aizebeoje Balogun, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) and Prof. Obioma Anthony Nwaopara, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration),  to buttress their point.

Reacting, the school Registrar, Habib Idris Ekhalefo said only the governing council and the visitor to the school which is the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has the right to determine issue of tenure of the vice chancellor.

The petitioners according to him, “are interlopers who habe no business on the issue at stake.”

But the group said it was trying to prevent the National Universities Commission (NUC) hammer from falling on the institution, given that the regulatory body does not waste any time in sanctioning institutions that flout its code on the tenure of vice chancellors.