Reps Demand Transparency: Urge New UniAbuja VC Halt Accommodation Racketeering, Shady Practices
The House of Representatives has urged the new Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof. Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, to take necessary steps to halt alleged accommodation racketeering and shady practices in the institution.
The Chairman of the House Committee on University Education, Hon. Abubakar Hassan Fulata, made this known following his committee’s visit to the school.
“We have received several petitions regarding accommodation racketeering. Some middlemen get accommodations and lease them to others at exorbitant prices, sometimes exceeding over 500%,” he said.
“This is very wrong and poses serious challenges to many people, particularly females, who may be exposed to many problems,” he added.
He urged Prof. Fawehinmi and the entire management of the university to ensure harmony between the management and various staff unions, as well as students.
The committee also tasked the new Vice Chancellor of UniAbuja to avoid all issues that led to leadership crises in the institution in the past, resulting in the emergence of four vice chancellors within three years.
In the same vein, the committee urged the Vice Chancellor and management team of the newly established Federal University of Technology, Abuja, to adhere to federal character principles in employment and admission.
Fulata noted that the committee had an interface with the Vice Chancellor and management team of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, and the Federal University of Education, Kontagora, Niger State, over the management of the schools in recent times.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, Prof. Bashir Garba, has appeared before the committee in Abuja.
Recall that the House recently invited him to discuss the management of the school over the last three years.
Prof. Garba apologized to the lawmakers for his absence when they visited the university, saying he runs a transparent system and has nothing to hide from the general public, let alone the House Committee on University Education.
He promised to work with the committee and relevant stakeholders to take the institution to the desired height.
