Photo: Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education
By: Mandy Park
Fresh controversy has trailed the decision by the Chairman of the Governing Council of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Comrade Fidelis Edeh, to relocate the interview of vice-chancellor candidates from Umuahia to Abuja.
Emerging details indicate that Edeh wrote to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, on January 24, 2026, citing alleged security concerns on campus as the basis for seeking approval to move the exercise to Abuja.
However, in an interview with The Punch on Wednesday, Edeh reportedly offered a different justification, stating that the law empowers him to convene council meetings anywhere in the country or even abroad.
He further disclosed plans to rotate council sittings across the South-East region, despite the financial implications for the university.
The conflicting explanations have sparked outrage among stakeholders in Abia State, with critics accusing the council chairman of securing ministerial approval under false pretences.
The development has also raised concerns over the financial burden on the institution, with sources estimating that more than N50 million may be expended on the Abuja exercise.
There are also fears that some candidates may be effectively excluded due to the high cost of travel and logistics.
Weighing in on the matter, the Abia Democratic Alliance (ADA) accused Edeh of misleading the minister, insisting that there is no security threat in Abia State to justify the relocation of the interviews.
In a statement issued in Umuahia and signed by its Chairman, Nze Theophilus Nkere, and Secretary, Mazi Kanu Okoroafor, the group described Abia as safe and alleged that the change of venue was aimed at disenfranchising certain candidates to favour preferred contenders.
“We believe the statement credited to Edeh that the law empowers him to hold council meetings anywhere is the real reason for the Abuja move.
The security concerns mentioned to the minister were merely a smokescreen,” the group stated.
ADA further claimed that the alleged security threat referenced by Edeh stemmed from a peaceful meeting by Abia-based staff members who had called for transparency in the selection process for the university’s seventh vice-chancellor.
The group also dismissed claims of cyberbullying as justification for the relocation, noting that Edeh had reportedly visited Umudike twice after writing to the minister without incident.
“Is he suggesting that relocating to Abuja would shield him from the alleged cyberbullying?” the statement queried.
Beyond the immediate controversy, ADA warned that a policy of rotating council meetings across states or even countries could strain the university’s finances and pose risks to sensitive documents transported for such sittings.
The group also questioned the logistics of moving staff members required to support council meetings to distant venues.
The pressure group expressed concern that the delay in appointing a substantive vice-chancellor — a process previous administrations concluded by early November in the year of transition — could create administrative uncertainty.
It alleged that the council chairman might be engineering a crisis to pave the way for the appointment of an acting vice-chancellor.
ADA further claimed that some council members were not consulted before the request to change the venue was forwarded to the minister.
Calling for urgent intervention, the group urged the Education Minister to review the approval granted for the relocation and to revert the venue of the vice-chancellor interviews to Umuahia, insisting that there is no security situation warranting the shift to Abuja
