The House of Representatives Committee on University Education has directed the suspension of the appointment process for a new vice-chancellor at the University of Abuja amid ongoing investigations into a leadership dispute at the institution.
Committee Chairman Abubakar Fulata issued the directive in Abuja on Friday after a closed-door meeting with Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof. Patricia Lar.
Fulata urged all parties involved to prioritise dialogue to restore stability and ensure the uninterrupted running of academic activities.
“We urge all stakeholders to halt any steps toward selecting a new vice-chancellor until the issues fueling the current leadership crisis are fully resolved,” he said.
He emphasised the committee’s commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the academic calendar and institutional governance.
Fulata also noted that the committee had received petitions regarding the dismissal of some vice-chancellors and the dissolution of governing councils. He said investigations were underway to determine whether due process was followed.
Additionally, the committee is intervening in the revocation of 11,000 hectares of land originally allocated to the University of Abuja, which was recently reclaimed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.
He explained that the committee acted on a petition from the university’s alumni association, which expressed concern over the reduction of the university’s land from 15,000 to 4,000 hectares.
In her remarks, Prof. Lar said she had less than one month left to complete her six-month tenure as acting vice-chancellor, during which her mandate has been to steer the institution until a substantive VC is appointed.