ASUCA Rejects Appointment of University Professor as Provost of Federal College of Agriculture

The Academic Staff Union of Colleges of Agriculture (ASUCA) has criticised the appointment of a university professor as the new Provost and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal College of Agriculture, Ibadan. The union argues that the appointment contravenes the qualifications clearly outlined in the job advertisement, which specifies that only candidates who are Assistant Directors, Associate Professors, or Principal Lecturers from National Agricultural Research Institutes (NARIs) or Federal Colleges of Agriculture (FCAs) should be eligible.

Speaking to journalists in Jos, the union’s acting National President, Comrade Williams Manggeol, insisted that the appointed professor was not qualified and should never have applied, been shortlisted, or selected for the role. He warned that bringing university professors into these positions could demoralise committed college staff and cause a brain drain within the system.

Manggeol also criticised a separate advertisement for a similar position at the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology in Vom, Plateau State, which listed Associate Professor as a basic requirement. He claimed this went against earlier agreements and appeared to be a strategy to bring in university professors who are unfamiliar with the unique challenges faced by Colleges of Agriculture.

He recalled that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had previously opposed efforts to include Colleges of Agriculture in the TETFund system, making it inappropriate for ASUU members to now benefit from those same institutions. According to him, after getting what they want, university professors often return to their original posts, leaving the agricultural colleges worse off. ASUCA is demanding that only staff from within the FCA and NARIs system be considered for these top leadership roles to preserve the integrity and career structure of the colleges.

Manggeol also raised concerns about the long delay in updating the Scheme of Service (SOS) and Condition of Service (COS) for these colleges.

He noted that the current SOS/COS in use dates back to 2004 and is outdated. Although a new draft was proposed in 2020 by the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) and the Ministry of Agriculture, it has yet to be finalised, causing frustration among staff.