The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has urged the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, to prevail on the appropriate officials to enforce the resignation order for Dr Hauwa’u Gimbiya Abdulkarim to vacate office without further delay.
The President of COEASU, Smart Olugbeko in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, said her prompt action to leave office would avoid a possible national industrial action.
The statement reads:” It is with grave concern that the Union brings to the fore the continued stay in office of Dr Hauwa’u Gimbiya Mukhtar Abdulkarim who has been proven to have forged her promotion documents that ‘qualified’ her to be appointed as the Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Gusau, by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The Union finds it curious that the Federal Ministry of Education has condoned the woman’s stay in office in defiance of the resignation order dated 28th December, 2023, served her by the same Ministry.
“The Ministry’s directive for her resignation was on the premise that she forged her letter of promotion in order for her to be qualified to be appointed the provost.
“The Union is shocked that six (6) months after the directive, she has neither resigned nor vacated her office as she continued to superintend over the institution– taking critical decisions as provost.
“The Union is particularly worried that, as a female teacher-trainee tertiary institution, the Ministry’s obvious inaction on the matter, which has emboldened the woman to hang on to office, portends grave implication on not only the education of the students but also their ethical training.
“Besides, the act of giving authority to an individual who has been proven to all, the Ministry and other stakeholders inclusive, to have forged her documents leading to the appointment poses a significant threat to the integrity and effectiveness of our educational system.
“It is imperative that appointments within our educational institutions are made based on merit, competency, and adherence to established qualifications criteria.”
