*Ongoing Strike, Other Sticky Points Remain
By Sam Tyav, Makurdi
There are strong indications that enormous tasks await the soon-to-be-appointed Vice Chancellor (VC) of the Benue State government-owned Moses Orshio Adasu University Makurdi (MOAUM) expected to come on board in the next few weeks.
The tenure of the substantive VC, Professor Joe Tor Iorapuu, expires in the early days of November, 2025.
Recall that Professor Iorapuu few months ago proceeded on retirement leave with the Deputy VC (Academics), Professor Simon Terver Ubwa, subsequently appointed as Acting VC.
Investigation has shown that the challenges awaiting the next VC include,among others, sustenance of the improved facilities at the university and provision of more for the benefit of the university community.
A visit to the university showed that power supply has greatly improved on campus in the last few months.
A student of the university’s Radiography Department in its School of Health Sciences, who spoke with our correspondent, noted that even when there were prolonged outages from the public electricity services provider, the university management continued to ensure steady electricity supply through use of giant generators and other means.
Another student of the university,in the Political Science Department, corroborated the assertion, saying that indeed power supply has improved on campus.
On the issue of water supply to the university, the students also admitted that there was great improvement, a departure from the previous situation.
Our investigation showed that the management of the university has removed old boards in lecture halls and provided new and enhanced ones for better teaching and learning outcomes.
However, a new VC will have to come down hard on absenteeism by many lecturers -a syndrome that many students are kicking against.
Abandonment of lectures by academic staff is a major complaint by students.
In some departments such as Radiology, it was also gathered that any student that failed any course and got ‘carry over’, was often automatically removed from the department and required to continue in a different department – a development irking the students, given the rate of absenteeism by academic staff.
The new VC will also have his/her hands full as striking members of the Senior Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) have refused to back down until their demands are met by the university authorities and State government.
The demands include non-implementation of national minimum wage. Chairman of the university’s Joint Action Congress (JAC), Comrade Luper Shishi told People&Politics that the university management should implement minimum wage and other demands before they call off the industrial action.
Aside dealing with the strike issue, the new VC is also expected to construct additional lecture halls and hostel accommodation.
PHOTO CAPTION: Ag VC Professor Ubwa.
