Uniabuja Governing Council approves restructuring of institution

Mariam Sanni, Abuja

The Governing Council of the University of Abuja has approved the re-evaluation of the operations of the university.
The governing council said the reposition will allow the institution to deliver on its mandate in line with global practices.
The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the governing council of the university, Sani Maikudi, disclosed this while inaugurating a committee on the restructuring of the institution.
Maikudi, in a statement by the university’s Deputy Registrar, Information and Publications, Waziri Garba, said the council had discovered that the university had some structural operational problems which had stood in the way of its rapid development.
He said that the university was envisaged to be a beacon in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) promoting scholarship, national unity and public service programmes appropriate to a world class university.
The Pro-Chancellor said the university appeared to have veered off course over the years which now required that its strategic plan be re-evaluated to bring it not only in tandem with its mandate but in line with world best practices.
Maikudi said: “It has been over 30 years since the inception of the university and it can be said without any contradiction that not much has been achieved towards realising the objectives for which the university was set up.”
The nine-man committee has a one-time Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Saburi Adesanya, as the chairman.
The committee is expected to evaluate the strategic plan of the university and its relevance to the mandate establishing it, evaluate its master plan and the relevance of the current physical/structural arrangement in achieving a 21st century University.
The committee which has its members drawn from outside the university also has the mandate to conduct staff audit of the university to ascertain the authenticity of their credentials, placements and progression on the job.
Other terms of reference of the committee include, evaluate other appointments and their relevance to the growth of the university, the relationship between all the staff unions on campus and management as well as the effectiveness of the feedback mechanisms for addressing students and labour issues, among others.
Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Michael Adikwu expressed optimism in the ability of the committee which members were associated with or involved in the university system to produce a document that would help reinvigorate the institution.
Prof. Adesanya, commended the governing council for reposing confidence in the members and assured the council of their total commitment to discharging the trust reposed in them for the overall growth of the university.