The Federal Government has announced the sacking
of chief executives of 17 parastatals and agencies under the Ministry of
Education.
The government’s announcement was contained in a statement issued on Monday
night by the Deputy Director of Press and Public Relations in the Education
Ministry, Ben Bem Goong.
Four Chief Executives whose tenures were yet to
elapse were however retained, while others including the Registrar and Chief
Executive of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, Prof Dibu Ojerinde
were relieved of their appointments.
The statement said the appointments were with immediate effect, precisely from
Monday, August 01, 2016.
The 17 agencies affected in the mass sack and the
new Chief Executives appointed included the National Universities Commission,
Prof Abubakar Adamu Rasheed; Nigerian Institute for Education Planning and
Administration, Prof, Mrs. Lilian Salami; Universal Basic Education, Dr.
Hameed Bobboyi and National Library of Nigeria, Prof. Lanre Aina.
Others are National Examinations Council, Prof
Charles Uwakwe; National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal
Education, Prof Abba Aladu and Nomadic Education Commission, Prof Bashir Usman.
Also appointed are National Business and
Technical Examinations Board, Prof Isioma Isiugo-Abanihe; Teachers Registration
Council of Nigeria, Prof Sunday Josiah Ajiboye; Computer Registration Council
of Nigeria, Afolabi Aderinto and National Commission for Colleges of Education,
Prof Bappah Aliyu.
The new appointees also included Tertiary
Education Trust Fund, Dr. Abdullahi Bichi Baffa; National Teachers Institute,
Prof Garba Dahuwa Azare; Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria, Prof
Michael Afolabi; and National Mathematical Centre, Prof Steven Ejugwu Onah.
The Secretary-General, Supreme Council for
Islamic Affairs in Nigeria, Prof Ishaq Oloyede has been named
Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, while the National Institute of Nigerian
Languages has Prof Chinyere Ohiri-Aniche as its CEO.
Those retained included the Nigeria
Educational Research and Development Council, Prof. Samaila Junaidu; Nigerian
French Language C\Village, Prof Rauf Adebisi; National Board for Technical
Education, Dr. Mas’ud Kazaure and National Arabic Language Village, Prof.
Muhammad Mu’az.
The new appointees are expected to report at the
office of the Education Minister on Tuesday, August 02, 2016 by
12:00 noon for inauguration.
Ojerinde ran into trouble with the Minister
following the way he handled the ongoing 2016 admission into universities and
other tertiary institutions.
On Sunday, he withdrew the list of recommended candidates for admission
earlier sent to universities and other tertiary institutions.
The announcement was contained in a statement by
the spokesperson for JAMB, Dr. Fabian Benjamin.
According to him, the decision was to ensure that
universities perform their statutory responsibility of selecting candidates and
referring them to JAMB for confirmation.
This, JAMB stated, should be done in consonance
with the admission criteria of merit, catchment area and educationally
disadvantaged states as directed by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu
Adamu, during the policy committee meeting.
Benjamin said the earlier list was sent to help
fast-track the process of admission so as to allow other tiers of tertiary
institutions conduct their admission for the 2016/2017 academic session.
“Candidates should not panic because this is part
of the process of the 2016 admission exercise. JAMB regrets any inconvenience
this decision would have caused the tertiary institutions,” he stated.