The management of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, has firmly opposed a legislative move by Senator Shehu Buba (Bauchi South) seeking to convert the institution from a university of technology to a conventional university.
Speaking to journalists in Bauchi, the Registrar of ATBU, Alhaji Kabiru Garba, said the proposal was already progressing at the National Assembly without any consultation with the university’s governing bodies. Garba said the university was shocked to discover through a video clip that its enabling law was being reviewed without involvement of the Governing Council, Senate, or supervising agencies such as the Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC).
“The Governing Council and the Senate are the two most important organs of the university. Any amendment to the law must start from these organs,” he said.
“As I speak, neither the Vice Chancellor, who is the chief academic and administrative officer, nor the Chairman of Council, nor myself as custodian of the university’s laws, has been contacted. The entire process is flawed.”
Similarly, the President of ATBU National Alumni Association, Mohammed Sani Wadata, rejected the move, describing it as unacceptable and procedurally wrong.
Wadata said he received numerous calls from alumni members after the senator’s presentation surfaced online. His inquiries revealed that neither the Vice Chancellor nor the Chairman of Council was informed about the bill. “If those managing the university are not aware, then something is clearly wrong. You cannot wake up to find your house being altered without your consent,” he said.
The alumni president added that ATBU was established through an Act of the National Assembly, and any amendments must originate from the university after due consultation.
He disclosed that the association has already petitioned the Senate Committee on Higher Institutions and TETFund, urging them to halt the process and step down the bill.
“We have 11 conventional universities around ATBU. In the entire North-East, only ATBU is a university of technology,” Wadata said.
“ATBU, along with FUT Akure and FUT Owerri, was established as a specialised institution to drive industrial development. Other regions are even calling for more universities of technology, such as the newly approved one in Lagos.”
He stressed that converting ATBU into a conventional university would undermine its specialised mandate and the technological needs of the region.
The sun
