The situation at the Admiralty University of Nigeria, Delta State, took a new turn late Thursday when the Chairman of the Governing Council and Pro-Chancellor of the institution, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba CNS (retd), resigned his appointment.

Ezeoba’s resignation followed the decision of the Federal Government to pick the second-best candidate for the vacant position of vice chancellor of the school.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, in a statement on Thursday, reversed the government’s initial choice of the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Lucian Chukwu, as VC.

Instead, he said the government had decided to appoint a former dean at the University of Ibadan, Prof.Christopher Ogbogbo, who came second during the selection process.

The development runs contrary to a statement issued by the Ministry of Education last Friday, which confirmed the appointment of Chukwu as the substantive VC.

In that statement, the minister said Chukwu, a professor of Marine Biology, emerged as the best candidate out of the three shortlisted for the position.

Chukwu scored 83.41 per cent, Ogbogbo had 72.5 per cent, while the third candidate, Prof. Ijeoma Ijeh, scored 69.16 per cent during the selection exercise headed by Ezeoba.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that to ensure the integrity, transparency, and professionalism of the selection process, the council engaged the services of KPMG, a globally recognised and reputable consulting firm, to conduct the recruitment.

Prior to the minister’s announcement of Chukwu as VC, the university’s registrar, Isaac Mankilik, declared Ogbogbo as the VC, a move that was opposed by the pro-chancellor.

Mankilik, in a statement, said Ogbogbo, a professor of African History, emerged successful after receiving nine out of 15 votes from the governing council members at an extraordinary meeting on Friday.

The registrar’s declaration prompted the minister to announce Chukwu as the substantive VC.

However, in a dramatic twist of events, the Ministry of Education, in a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Folasade Boriowo, said Ogbogbo had been selected for the job.

According to the statement, the appointment followed a review of the selection process and ministerial intervention.

“Contrary to recent misleading reports, the Federal Ministry of Education later discovered as a fact that due process was meticulously followed in the selection process, culminating in the appointment of Prof. Christopher Ogbogbo as the substantive Vice-Chancellor.

“Following a thorough review of the selection process, subsequent ministerial intervention, and in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to merit and fairness, the ministry confirms that Professor Christopher Ogbogbo is the most eligible candidate for the position of substantive Vice-Chancellor of ADUN.

“The ministry affirms that this appointment by the Governing Council of ADUN aligns with the provisions of the Admiralty University of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2022 and other extant provisions regulating the affairs of the university,” the statement read.

Reacting, Ezeoba described the decision as a disregard for merit and due process, insisting that the initial choice of Chukwu was based on a transparent and competitive process.

He alleged that Ogbogbo’s appointment was influenced by a top Navy officer who, according to him, was working with some members of the Governing Council.

“As a concerned Nigerian who believes in probity, accountability, transparency, fairness, and equity, I have done my bit; it is left for them to do what is right.

“What is most annoying to me is that the candidate they are even pushing does not have the competence. I interviewed him; I was there; I was the chairman of the selection board.

“He (Ogbogbo) lacks managerial skills in running a university, as the highest position he has ever held was dean of faculty, unlike Chukwu, who is a Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Lagos.

“I interviewed him (Ogbogbo); he did not even come prepared for the interview.

“I have resigned my appointment as the Pro-Chancellor. I can never support mediocrity. They can find another person to do their bidding,” Ezeoba said.

Also reacting, a top academic who is involved in the matter, accused the Federal Government of sacrificing merit for tribalism, alleging that Chukwu was dropped for Ogbogbo because he hails from Delta State, where the university is located.

She called on the government to show justifiable reasons why Chukwu was dropped, arguing that merit should not be disregarded.

“This shows that merit is no longer necessary, and experience is thrown to the backseat. It is absurd to appoint a second-best candidate. The way it is done according to law is that they must tell us the justifiable reasons the first person should not be taken.

“If university administration is by popular vote in council, then you have no business advertising the position. You have no business wasting public resources to hire organisations like KPMG to conduct the recruitment exercise,” she said.

However, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Emmanuel Osodeke, said the pro-chancellor had no authority to challenge the council’s decision.

According to him, the governing Council did not violate the University (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act in appointing Ogbogbo as VC.

Osodeke argued that the University Act did not stipulate that the best candidate should be appointed as VC.

He said, “The pro-chancellor went to meet the minister to complain. He believed that the number one candidate should be the vice-chancellor, not the number two, as decided by the council when he was present. But the council insisted that the number two candidate should be the vice-chancellor.

“Our position on this is that there is a law that dictates how a vice-chancellor should be appointed, and the law is very clear—the minister has no say in how a vice-chancellor is appointed in a university; it is purely a council decision.

“Therefore, for the pro-chancellor to have gone to meet the minister to announce a vice-chancellor is illegal. He (pro-chancellor) should go to court, not the minister.

“This present administration is arrogating the autonomy we fought for a long time. The law states that the selection board will recommend three people to the council, out of which the council will pick one.

“It must be the number one candidate, but if the council agrees on number two, there must be a reason. If all members do not agree, then they put it to a vote, and the candidate who has the highest score becomes the VC out of those three. It has nothing to do with the minister at all.”

When contacted, Ogbogbo declined comment, saying “call me on Monday evening, I will be ready to talk.”

Meanwhile, efforts to reach Chukwu for his reaction to the reversal of his appointment were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to phone calls or messages as of the time of filing this report.