NECO Protests Appointment Of New Registrar

The Academic Staff Union of Research and Allied Institute (ASURI) National Examinations Council (NECO) branch, Minna, has protested the appointment of a new Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the council, Professor Monday Tommy Joshua, arguing that the appointment did not follow due process.

The position of the union was contained in a protest letter addressed to the Minister of Education and made available to newsmen in Minna, the Niger State capital, on Tuesday and signed by the chairman of the Union, Mr Agwu Arisa.

It will be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan, last week Thursday, approved the appointment of Professor Joshua as the new Registrar/ Chief Executive Officer of NECO, with effect from March 30.

The appointment followed the expiration of the tenure of the former embattled Registrar/CEO, Professor Promise Nwachukwu Okpala, who spent eight years in the council.

The appointment letter of Professor Joshua was dated April 2 and was signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, with reference No: 6\S. 14T.

Professor Joshua, until his appointment, was a professor of Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation in the Faculty of Education, University of Calabar.

However, the Academic Staff Union of Research and Allied Institute (ASURI) NECO branch said due process was not followed in the appointment of the registrar.

Part of the letter addressed and sent to the Minister of Education read in part: “For the avoidance of doubt, may we remind you that since the inception of our institution (hereinafter referred to simply as “NECO”), there has been two registrars and CEOs to wit: Professor Dibu Ojerinde, who was the pioneering Registrar, from the South-West region of Nigeria, who after serving out full his full term, the outgoing Registrar, Professor Promise Okpala, from the South-Eastern region of Nigeria was thereafter appointed, who has now not only served out his term, but enjoyed a period of extension of tenure without due process being complied with.”

The union said “in the present circumstances and bearing in mind the principle of federal character, it would only be fair and reasonable to expect that the next appointment to the office of registrar should come from the northern zone of the country.”

Accordingly it said “the union has been reliably informed that one Professor Joshua, who is now being considered for appointment as the next Registrar, is not only not from the Northern zone of Nigeria, he was never recommended by the honourable minister to the president for such appointment,” the union added.

The union pointed out that it was in view of this curious development that they considered intolerable and unacceptable that they conveyed their discontent premised on the violation of due process, failure to imbibe the principle of federal character as clearly defined in relevant legislation.