Unconstitutional Refusal By The Pro-Chancellor And Chairman Of Governing Council Of University Of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, To Observe Federal Character Principle In The Selection And Appointment Of The 16th Vice-Chancellor Of The University.
12th August, 2025.
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, is Nigeria’s Grundnorm. It is the ultimate source of validity for all other laws and legal rules in Nigeria.
In order to guarantee Equity, Justice, Fairness and Harmonious Co-existence, Section 14, and specifically sub-sections 3 and 4, stipulates that appointment of Principle Officers by any Government, its Departments or Agencies, shall reflect the diversity of the People composed therein.
In a pluralistic and heterogeneous society like Nigeria, the Drafters of the 1999 Constitution must have anticipated the very likely implications of of not creating a platform that will compel people in authority to be fair to all in the discharge of their duties. They knew that in any society where there is absence of equity, there will always be disharmony, protest and agitation which would not allow peace and development. In order to nip such a situation in the bud, the Authors of the Constitution wisely made that all important and inclusive provision.
Giving impetus to the overall importance of the constitutional provision for Federal Character Principle, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Engr Kayode Olubunmi Ojo, had, in his written address at the University’s Convocation on 26th July, 2025, assured the University Community that he ‘shall observe the Constitutional Principle of Federal Character in the appointment of Principal Officers of the University’.
On the strength of Section 14 of the Constitution, Equity Global Reporters Ltd vividly thinks that the recent appointment of Professor Simon Ortuanya as the 16th Vice-Chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, is both unconstitutional and dangerously unlawful.
A background check on the process leading to the appointment of Professor Ortuanya reveals that the Joint Council/Senate Selection Board had screened and recommended three (3) best candidates out of twenty-six (26) contestants as follows; (1) Professor Simon Ortuanya (Enugu State), (2) Professor Johnson Urama (Enugu State), and (3) Professor Edith Nwosu (Abia State) to the Governing Council for selection and appointment of one of them as the 16th substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University.
Knowing that out of four Principal Officers in the University, Enugu State already has three; the Registrar, Bursar, and the Librarian, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council of the University should naturally have observed the constitutional provision of Federal Character. This means that Professor Edith Nwosu should have been selected and appointed the 16th Vice-Chancellor of the University.
It has to be stated that Enugu State had produced Vice-Chancellors of the University in 2004-2009, and 2009-2014. In the same vein, Anambra State had also had a stint at the Vice-Chancellorship of the University in 2014-2019, and 2019-2024.
Though the University has some degree of autonomy, it is expected that the supervising Ministry, Federal Ministry of Education, should have as one of its major responsibilities the oversight function of making sure that constitutional guidelines in the appointment of Principal Officers of the University are strictly followed and complied with.
Equity Global Reporters Ltd, therefore, calls on the President And Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Most Distinguished Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, who has shown unprecedented interest and passion in education in Nigeria, and being an Icon that has relentlessly fought for Equity, Justice and Fairness, to reverse the unconstitutional appointment of Professor Simon Ortuanya as the 16th substantive Vice-Chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and not University of Nsukka or Enugu State.
Sir Don Ubaini; KSC, JP
Publisher, Equity Global Reporters Ltd.
