UniAbuja Crisis: Minister Awaits White Paper

As the crisis in the University of Abuja lingered, a source close to the Minister of Education said on Thursday that she was awaiting the White Paper on a report by a committee on the university.
“I assure you that the minister is not keeping silent; she is awaiting the White Paper on the report of the 37-man Presidential Committee she set up on the university.
“Anyone found culpable in this crisis would face the music,’’ the top official told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja .
The official said the report would form the nucleus on which any action could be taken.
“The minister feels bad about what is happening in the institution, but does not want to take any decision that could be considered rash.’’
According to the source, the minister had initially thought the issues could be addressed before they spiralled into their present state; “but it is obvious that the politics of that university is more than the institution itself’.’’
The official attributed the lingering crisis to lack of adequate information between management, staff and students.
“If they had managed information well within the university system, things could not have degenerated into their present state,’’ the official noted.
The source, however, said the National Universities Commission (NUC), though shared part of the blame for the deterioration of the crisis, was trying at its own level to intervene.
The university was closed indefinitely on Wednesday following two days of protest by student over the non-accreditation of some courses and faculties in the institution.
The students began the protest on Monday following the inability of the university management to meet up with the six months period given to it to accredit some of its courses.
The courses are engineering, medicine and veterinary medicine.
In a circular on Tuesday, the Registrar, Malam Mohammed Moddibo, said the closure followed protests by students of the institution.
He directed the students to vacate their hostels before 4 p.m., adding that the move would ensure security of lives and property in the university. (NAN)