Authorities of the private universities whose operational licences were suspended by the National Universities Commission, NUC, on Wednesday have reacted to the NUC announcement by expressing, disappointment and embarrassment.
The institutions stated that the NUC did not inform them of any form of wrongdoing before making its decision public on Wednesday, adding that they learnt of the suspension for the first time in the media.
According to Punch newspaper, the Registrar of Madonna University, Mr. Theophilus Ugwoke, said, “The point is that it is a big surprise to us. The university is not being mismanaged by anybody. Our transcripts and certificates are issued promptly. Everybody knows that issuance of transcript is based on request and that is what we have been doing. We also release our results promptly…we want to find out where we went wrong, until we clear from them, we won’t take any decision’’.
Though the Achievers University declined giving a position on the issue, claiming that the Governing Council was yet to meet, sources close to the institution said the university was not informed of any form of wrongdoing by the NUC.
The source said the university learnt of the suspension for the first time in the media.
Also, the Director of Communication, Lead City University, Dr. Ayo Owolabi, said the NUC did not inform the institution of any wrongdoing.
He said the action of the regulatory body was also in contempt of the court as an earlier judgment obtained by the institution against the NUC had ordered it not to interrupt the activities of the university.
He alleged that the action of the NUC was calculated to embarrass the university and “de-market” the institution. He accused the NUC leadership of bias against the institution.
Noting that the university would make its views known to the public, he said the university had not erred in any way and would continue to carry on with its activities despite the suspension order.
On the other hand, the Registrar, Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State, Mr. Wale Aderibigbe, assured that the suspension order by the NUC would soon be reversed. “We are in Abuja already. We are on top of the situation. We hope that by tomorrow, our license shall be restored.” he said.
Meanwhile, management and staff of Caritas University in Enugu State on Thursday stopped its students from protesting against the suspension of the institution’s licence by the NUC.
