President Tinubu and Lawlessness at Admiralty University of Nigeria -By Patrick Yande

What happens to a nation when its laws fail and many of its citizens lose their fear of its laws? The answer should be obvious: hope for its growth fails and the few who still retain respect for its laws live in grave danger of assault by the majority who are lawless. To renew lost hope, laws must be enforced, law-abiding citizens should be protected, and law-breakers must be punished. Accordingly, it is time for President Tinubu’s attention to turn to the lawlessness pervading certain federal institutions of education and make urgent and necessary appointments within the federal education sector to restore order and sanity. It is time his Renewed Hope Agenda extended to the Education sector.
On Saturday, January 6, 2024, an unconventional and illegal memo was posted on the WhatsApp page of the Staff of a federal university called Admiralty University of Nigeria (ADUN) by the Registrar of the University (Commodore Isaac Mankilik retired). This January 6 memo could be likened to the famed “January 6 insurrection” in the US in 2021: it carried a reference ADUN/R/GEN/IC/VOL.1/07 and the title “Regularization of the Appointment of Professor Paul Omojo Omaji as Vice Chancellor of Admiralty University of Nigeria.” Why is this memo unconventional and illegal?

The opening paragraph states: “Following a communication from the GMD/CEO of NHL on the above subject, I hereby notify all staff and students that the Chief of the Naval Staff has endorsed the regularization of the appointment of Professor Paul Omojo Omaji as Vice Chancellor of ADUN, for 5 years with effect from 1st July 2019 to laspe (sic) on 30th June 2024. This regularization is in accordance with the ADUN Act 2017 under which Professor Paul Omojo Omaji was appointed. It is important to note that the ADUN Act 2022 provides for a period of transition to avoid a vacuum.”

It is hard to admit that the GMD/CEO of NHL and the Chief of the Naval Staff (mentioned in the memo) have openly usurped from President Tinubu (Visitor to Admiralty University of Nigeria under the ADUN Act 2022, which is mentioned by the Registrar in his memo) his statutory powers over the university. Is there any authority other than the governing council and Visitor to a federal university in Nigeria that can legitimately give directives regarding the appointment of the Vice Chancellor? The Chief of the Naval Staff is expected to repudiate this illegal memo, or the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Visitor to Admiralty University of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR should issue a query to the Chief of the Naval Staff and cause the memo rescinded quickly. The Admiralty University of Nigeria, by an Act of the National Assembly, called the Admiralty University of Nigeria Establishment Act (2022), signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on February 8, 2023, was legally established as a federal university in 2023. It is an enthronement of anarchy for Registrar Mankilik (who is also on his way out, being a retired officer of over 64 years) to cite a repealed ADUN Act of 2017 whereas the university presently operates a new Law— the Admiralty University of Nigeria Establishment Act (2022).

How safe would Nigeria be if citizens were allowed to cite certain provisions of Nigeria’s old constitutions (1960, 1963, 1979, etc.)? Furthermore, Registrar Mankilik’s claim that “ADUN Act 2022 provides for a period of transition to avoid a vacuum” was not followed by a citation of those “provisions” if they include an errant “regularization of the appointment of Professor Paul Omojo Omaji”, who was offered a contract of 4 years effective from July 1, 2019, as “Vice Chancellor/President” of the Admiralty University (as licensed then by the National Universities Commission) by the Board of Trustees of the university when it was a private university co-owned by the Navy Holdings Limited (NHL) and Hellenic Education Limited (HEL). That tenure expired on June 30th, 2023, about 4 months after President Buhari signed the Admiralty University of Nigeria Establishment Act (2022). And this Act does not contain a provision on “Regularization of appointment of a Vice-Chancellor.” Additionally, in March 2018 both the GMD of NHL (then Rear Admiral Adebari) and the President of Hellenic Education Limited (Dr. Perestiani) put their seal to a new Law of Admiralty University, called ADUN Act (2018) which included the university leadership titles such as “president” and “vice president”. In the ADUN Act (2018), in Section 5 (3), it is stated that “The term of Office of the President shall be determined by the Board of Trustees.” Accordingly, the Board of Trustees fixed Professor Omaji’s tenure at 4 years in 2019 as “Vice Chancellor/President”, which Omaji accepted and served out on June 30th, 2023. Any other contrivances such as “tenure extension” or “Regularization of appointment” are audacious exhibitions of lawlessness, which President Tinubu ought to step in and stop.

In Paragraph 3 of Registrar Mankilik’s memo, he stated, “The regularization, which was conveyed to Professor Omojo Omaji on 29th December 2023, is in the overall interest of the University, and intended to avoid leadership vacuum pending the constitution of a new Governing Council by the FGN under ADUN Act 2022.” Is it not apparent that Mankilik has undercut his argument in favor of “Regularization of the appointment of Professor Paul Omojo Omaji” in both Paragraphs 1 and 2 of his memo? This is why? His argument in favor of this illegality is to “avoid leadership vacuum” (which is tenuous, because, as in ADUN Act (2022), there are provisions in the Acts of federal universities in Nigeria for filling vacancy in the position of vice chancellor). Secondly, should President Tinubu (Visitor to the University) decide today to constitute a Governing Council for Admiralty University of Nigeria Omaji is gone just like the fuel subsidy that President Tinubu removed last year.

On Wednesday, January 3, 2024, the Chief of the Naval Staff and a representative of the National Universities Commission (NUC) met with the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir in the minister’s office at the Federal Ministry of Education building over the leadership of Admiralty University of Nigeria. It is revealing that Registrar Mankilik did not mention this, because the Minister, being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), could never have “endorsed” or “authorized” an illegality such as “regularization of appointment of a vice chancellor” of a federal university. The Ag. Executive Secretary of the NUC, Mr. Maiyaki could not have “endorsed” this aberration either. Therefore, the content of the illegal memo is a product of the Nigerian Navy alone, which is unwilling to respect the directives of Mr. President. It is public knowledge that the appointment of a vice chancellor of a federal university in Nigeria is one of the functions of governing councils. With the dissolution of governing councils of federal universities by President Tinubu with effect from June 16, 2023, he directed that all matters requiring the action of councils should be forwarded to him for consideration through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation through the supervising ministry. The GMD/CEO of NHL (Rear Admiral Hamza Kaoje) and the Chief of the Naval Staff (Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla), by their actions, have decided that the presidential directive is not worthy of their regard. And if President Tinubu allows this insidious slight to pass, what restrains other public officers and officials to do the same? A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.

On Monday, January 1, 2024, President Tinubu signed the first federal budget of the Admiralty University of Nigeria. In agreement with the Renewed Hope Agenda of his administration, no dime from this budget should be released to the university until he has appointed a vice- chancellor, registrar, bursar, and university librarian for the Admiralty University of Nigeria. Those whose eyes are on the billions of naira that would come to the university and therefore are bent on having Omaji in place for their strategic personal gains should be disappointed.

Registrar Mankilik threatened both staff and students of Admiralty University of Nigeria while stating in Paragraph 4: “Consequently, all staff and students are expected to cooperate with the leadership of ADUN led by Professor Paul Omojo Omaji, as failure to do so will be viewed as an attempt to sabotage the University and, by extension, the Nigerian Navy.” It should be noted that, before this late-hour illegal memo by Registrar Mankilik on Saturday, January 6, 2024, the Nigeria Navy had deployed armed naval officers who presently parade the university campus with loaded guns, and students shall, officially, start returning to campus today (January 7, 2024) from the Christmas vacation. The federal government needs to take urgent preventive steps to prevent bloodshed on the campus of this federal university, which may be explained away as “accidental discharge”. The Commander-in-Chief should order the withdrawal of those armed officers from inside the university campus and for Professor Omaji (who is to arrive on campus on January 7, 2024) to stay away from the university.

LINK TO THE UNORTHODOX AND ILLEGAL MEMO: https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aq3tQ-j6WBAFga43dtgdcKNkD5IJig?e=u9L1o8