ABSU Crisis: “Governor Has No Hand In University Disciplinary Matter”, Abia Govt Says

The Abia State Government has dismissed allegations linking Governor Alex Otti to the ongoing disciplinary matter at Abia State University, Uturu, ABSU, saying the institution acted strictly within its statutory powers.

In a statement on Friday, the Director General of Abia State Bureau of Strategic Communication, Onyebuchi Ememanka, said the Governor has “no hand nor any interest” in the case involving a professor at ABSU.

“Since yesterday, I have received phone calls and messages from people who are accusing the Governor of having a hand in the issue involving the University and the Professor. I find that very ridiculous and senseless,” Ememanka stated.

He stressed that he was not taking sides in the matter and had no full facts, noting that the concern of government was to correct what he described as “misinformation” linking the Governor to the university’s internal administration.

Ememanka, a lawyer, cited the Abia State University Law 1995, as amended, as the basis for the university management’s action.

He referenced Section 15 (2) of the law, which gives the Vice Chancellor powers to suspend “ANY staff of the University, pending investigation, if in the opinion of the Vice Chancellor, such staff has committed a misconduct prejudicial to the interest of the University,” after which a report is made to Council.

“From the wording of that subsection 2, it means that the Vice Chancellor can act based SOLELY on his judgment at the time. The law calls this SUBJECTIVE TEST,” he explained.

He likened the power to emergency action, citing the English case of Wiltshire V. Barret where Lord Denning held that certain officials “must act at once, according to the facts as they appear to him and not on any ex post facto analysis of the situation.”

According to him, suspension is only a remedial step and the university is expected to give the staff fair hearing before a panel or committee within three months.

“And yes, there have been cases where a suspension is lifted after investigations show that the staff did no wrong. So what this means is that in acting initially, the Vice Chancellor or the University Council could have acted wrongfully,” he said.

Ememanka added that the university’s disciplinary powers have received judicial affirmation, referencing Osuh V. Abia State University at the National Industrial Court, and noted that similar provisions exist in the laws of all public universities in Nigeria.

“The Vice Chancellor and the University simply acted pursuant to their statutory powers. Whether the action of the University is right or wrong is an entirely different case,” he said.

He clarified that no one has been sacked, and that the outcome would depend on the investigation.

On allegations of political interference, Ememanka said the Abia State Government owns four tertiary institutions and it would be impossible for the Governor to be involved in routine administrative matters.

“If the Governor gets involved in routine administrative matters of all these institutions, then I wonder what time he will have for state matters,” he said.

He concluded that anyone who still believes the Governor is involved in the ABSU matter “is not only a block head but a comprehensive and irredeemable one.”

The Bureau said the clarification became necessary to prevent the dragging of the Governor’s office into what it described as a purely administrative and legal issue within the university.