Michael Okpara varsity clears air over recruitment controversy

By Steve Oko

The management of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), has firmly defended Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ursula Akanwa, against allegations surrounding the controversial recruitment exercise, while blaming the mess on the immediate past management, which superintended over the exercise, for not restricting itself to the approved quota.

It said Prof. Akanwa neither supervised nor influenced the recruitment process, insisting that the employment exercise had been concluded before she took over as Vice-Chancellor on March 1, 2026.

The management further explained that the payroll capture of the successful candidates was not done by the university but by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

The clarification comes amid growing concerns from some of the affected personnel, who said they were recruited in February 2026 and had been working without pay since then, only to have their identity cards retrieved during a meeting with the university management last week.

According to them, they were also issued fresh letters at the meeting, designating them as “Surplus to Needs,” a development they said had left them uncertain about their employment status.

“We don’t know whether we have been sacked or if we are still staff members,” one of the affected workers lamented.

Speaking at a press conference in Umudike, the Head of the University’s Public Relations and Protocol Unit, Mr Anyaso Anyaso, described attempts to drag the current Vice-Chancellor into the controversy as deliberate misinformation by “mischief makers.”

He said the facts clearly showed that the Federal Government approved the recruitment of 426 staff, a figure equally endorsed by the University’s Governing Council, which directed the then Vice-Chancellor and his management to strictly comply with the approved quota.

According to him, the previous administration allegedly ignored that directive by issuing appointment letters to 618 persons, while 553 names were subsequently captured on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).

He explained that the Federal Government’s payroll platform eventually recognised only the 426 vacancies officially approved by the Government and the Governing Council, leaving the excess recruits outside the approved payroll.

“The Vice-Chancellor has repeatedly made it clear at meetings with the university community that the recruitment exercise, including payroll capture, had already been completed before she assumed office. Anyone seeking explanations should direct such enquiries to those who conducted the exercise,” Anyaso stated.

The management further dismissed allegations that Prof. Akanwa orchestrated the removal of names from the Federal Government payroll, stressing that the Vice-Chancellor has no access to the GIFMIS platform and therefore lacks the authority to upload, delete or alter any employee’s records.

It maintained that the current administration merely inherited the consequences of an exercise carried out in excess of the approved recruitment quota and should not be blamed for decisions taken before Prof. Akanwa’s appointment.

The university urged members of the public to ignore what it described as false narratives aimed at tarnishing the image of the Vice-Chancellor, insisting that official records clearly exonerate the current management from any wrongdoing.

It also advised stakeholders to rely only on official university communications and refrain from spreading unverified reports capable of misleading the public.

The clarification followed public outrage over the alleged disengagement of 192 staff, with the university maintaining that the development was the direct fallout of the immediate-past administration’s decision to recruit far beyond the 426 positions approved by the Federal Government and the Governing Council.

It also denied sacking any staff, explaining that it was simply complying with directives that insisted that the university should not exceed its approved quota.

The university management which expressed sympathy over the plight of the affected staff, said its hands were tied as there were no budgetary provisions to accommodate their salaries.

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