A non-Governmental Organization Zamfara Saving Grace Initiative has petitioned the Minister of Education Professor Tahir Mamman over undue interference by the members of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) in the activities of the Federal College of Education (FCET) Gusau.
In a petition signed by one of the incorporated Trustees of the NGO Mubarak Shuaibu Zurmi insisted that the move to create another wave of leadership crises in the FCET by the members of College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) will jeopardize the academic progress of the college.
The statement reads “We learned that the union is being used by some politicians in Kebbi state allegedly using the name of the Minister of State for Education to force the Provost to resign so that another woman who came second in the interview who happened to be from Kebbi state can take over”.
“It was further alleged that the Minister of State for Education through the Permanent Secretary has sent a letter of advice to the Provost asking her to resign her appointment on the ground of pressure from the COEASU”.
“It would be unfortunate if the allegations are true that a minister who is an appointee of the President is asking another appointee of the President to resign his appointment baselessly. This is an attempt to undermine the powers and authority of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” the statement added.
On the suspension of academic activities by members of COEASU, the NGO said, “COEASU ordinarily should have not made themselves to be the working tools in the hand of unpatriotic politicians because the crises they are trying to cause in FCET Gusau is clearly a move towards destabilizing the relative peace restored by the new Provost”.
They added, “it was alleged that some senior members of the COEASU FCET Gusau branch who cannot become provost by virtue of statutory procedures due to incapacitation wanted to hide under these fresh crisis to push for the removal of the Provost so that they can be appointed on an acting capacity”.
“This tricks deployed by some of the unpatriotic members of the COEASU FCET Gusau branch is purely not in the interest of the academic progress of the college and as NGO who are concern about the plight of the college we will do everything possible to ensure that the move did not succeeds”.
“it is on record that for close to four or five years FCET Gusau does not have substantive Provost and whenever attempt is made to conduct a valid interview for a substantive project to emerge same COEASU FCET Gusau members will find a way of causing confusion which will lead to cancellation of the interview”.
“This child play must stop because we cannot allow FCET Gusau to suffer simply because some unpatriotic members of COEASU FCET Gusau branch wanted to get the position on the basis of not qualifying for it”.
“Our position remains that the provost of the FCET Gusau Dr. (Mrs) Hauwau Gimbiya Mukhtar Abdulkarim is validly appointed by the President having applied for the post, face the interview panel, emerged as the overall best shortlisted and appointed by the President and there is nothing more to qualify her than the procedure she undergoes”. The statement added.
“We will resist any attempt to allow Kebbi State to shortchange our lovely state of Zamfara and if the members of the union who are 80% indigents of Zamfara are not passionate about their state that is their choice but as concern citizens of Zamfara we are ready to defend the course of justice at whatever cost”.
The NGO promised to join other sister body Ambassadors For Wellness, Community Development and Social Justice in the suit they filed before the Federal High Court Gusau on Monday in order to seek for justice for both the provost and Zamfara state by extension.
