Navy debunks alleged illegality in extension of Admiralty University VC’s tenure

The Nigerian navy has dismissed alleged illegality in the temporary extension of the tenure of Paul Omojo Omaji as the vice-chancellor of Admiralty University of Nigeria (ADUN) in Ibusa, Delta state.

ADUN was established by the navy, through its subsidiary company, Navy Holdings Limited (NHL) and Hellenic Education Nigeria Limited (HENL), a European education foundation, in a public-private partnership (PPP).

The institution commenced operation as a private university in 2019 after obtaining license from the National Universities Commission (NUC).

But in 2022, former President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law a bill declaring the institution as a federal university.

Recently, the transitional governing council (TGC) of the institution approved the extension of Omaji’s tenure by six months pending the appointment of a substantive vice-chancellor that would oversee the post-transition era.

A report, however, argued that Omaji’s tenure extension was “illegal”. Omaji was first appointed as the institution’s vice-chancellor in July 2019.

The report claimed since the institution has become a federal university, the TGC put in place by the chief of the naval staff (CNS) was against the new law guiding the varsity.

He also called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene by appointing principal officers and “nip in the bud the illegalities” at the institution.

Reacting in a statement on Sunday, Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, navy spokesperson, said the “misleading article” was inspired by “mischief-makers”.

Ayo-Vaughan said contrary to the report, the takeover of the institution by the federal government has not been completed.

He said the federal ministry of education had commenced the process of conversion but the NUC is yet to change the institution’s status to a federal public university.

“The change of status of a university from private to public is not an event but a process involving key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs),” he said.

Ayo-Vaughan said the temporary extension of Omaji’s tenure by the council was to avoid a leadership vacuum at the institution pending the completion of the transition.

”This approval was endorsed by the CNS who is the de-facto Proprietor on June 9 and re-affirmed by the TGC on June 14. The university is currently in a delicate period of transition being midwived by the NN through the NHL,” added. 

“This is akin to the transitions of erstwhile military tertiary institutions such as the Nigerian Defence Academy, Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna and Nigerian Army University, Biu.

“It is absurd that the writer would refer uncharitably to the former president as ‘not to have given a hoot’ to governance and then advised his successor to arbitrarily intervene in a budding tertiary institution against the spirit and letters of its establishment law.”