Former FUTO SUG Presidents defend new VC’s appointments

By Athan Agbakwuru, Owerri

The Committee of Past Students’ Union Government Presidents of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, FUTO, has given their backing to the recent appointment of 24 special advisers and assistants by the newly inaugurated Substantive Vice Chancellor of FUTO, Professor Ikechukwu N. S. Dozie.

In clearly worded open letter to the Honourable Minister for Education, the group unequivocally endorsed the VC’s appointments stressing that it is in line with global best practices for administrative and operational efficiency.

The group in the open letter signed by Unegbu Victor Onyedikachi (Wallace), on behalf of the Committee of Past SUG Presidents, FUTO, clarified that the new appointees were not external recruits but serving staff of the university with years of experience.

Unegbu explained that a review of the appointments carried out by his committee showed that it is aimed at preserving institutional memory, reduce cost without attracting additional remuneration or administrative cost

His words, “Our review of the recent appointments indicates that the appointees are not external recruits but serving members of staff with years of institutional experience. This approach preserves institutional memory and reduces onboarding costs.

“The appointments do not attract additional remuneration or running cost. The officers will function as liaison channels to the Vice Chancellor. This model mirrors Special Adviser frameworks already used in several federal universities to reduce administrative bottlenecks without expanding the wage bill.

“The intent is operational efficiency. The office of the Vice Chancellor at a federal university of FUTO’s size manages thousands of staff and over twenty thousand students, alongside statutory committees and government reporting.

Delays often occur because matters must pass through multiple statutory layers, such as Heads of Departments and Directors, before reaching the Vice Chancellor.

“The Special Advisers are designed to create seamless access, ensure timely escalation, and provide early warning on staff and student welfare, transcripts, and other service matters.

“The current Vice Chancellor, Professor I.N.S. Dozie, has a documented record of structural reform. At Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University, KOMU, his administration introduced systems that enabled students to receive transcripts, certificates, and statements of result within the week of graduation, and facilitated immediate mobilization for National Youth Service.

“This was achieved through coordinated administrative realignment and direct channels of communication, without altering the foundational academic architecture of the university.

The FUTO initiative seeks to adapt that model. The Special Advisers are not intended to supplant statutory appointees. Their role is to complement, coordinate, and accelerate service delivery while statutory offices retain their constitutional mandates.”

The group therefore appealed to the Honourable Minister to rescind it’s decision to cancel the appointments and give it a chance to take effect.

“We respectfully urge the Ministry to allow the structure to take effect and to monitor its outcomes over the next academic session. University autonomy, as reinforced by the Federal Government’s commitment to modernize public tertiary institutions, includes the latitude to make administrative adjustments that improve service delivery without increasing recurrent expenditure.

“If, after evaluation, the appointments are found to duplicate functions or create inefficiencies, they can be reviewed.

However, preemptive reversal may deny FUTO the opportunity to demonstrate improved turnaround time on results, transcripts, student welfare, and staff matters, and general service delivery.

“We trust that the Ministry, under your leadership, will prioritize results and institutional innovation. FUTO’s mandate is to train, research, and serve, and these appointments are intended to remove friction from that mandate. We remain available for a briefing or for the submission of supporting administrative data at your convenience.,” Unegbu submitted.

The group also appreciated the ministry’s sincere intention to ensure that activities within universities in Nigeria follow strictly laid down procedures and tenets but added, “It is also important to reckon that the modern university is no longer limited to the traditional straight jacket of research and lecture delivery.

“Scholarship and practice over the last decade show a clear movement toward complex executive management that includes global linkages, digital systems, large student populations, and heightened accountability to government and stakeholders.

“Reports by the Association of Commonwealth Universities and UNESCO Institute for Higher Education between 2022 and 2024 confirm this shift across federal universities in Africa. Nigeria has reflected this change in structure.

“At FUTO, the increase from two to three Deputy Vice Chancellors under the immediate past Vice Chancellor, Professor Nnenna Oti, was initially questioned.

Experience has shown that the adjustment improved coordination across Academic, Research, and Administration, and aligned the university with contemporary global practice, the group buttressed..