By Leonard Okachie
Dr Philips Nto, a lecturer at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to prevail on the Governing Council of the institution to release his promotion to the rank of a professor.
Nto made the appeal at a news briefing in Umuahia on Monday, saying that the university had yet to effect his promotion, which was due in 2021.
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He alleged that the Chairman of the Governing Council, Mr Fidelis Edeh, approved the professorial promotion of other academics “with the speed of light”, but blatantly refused his.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nto teaches various courses in the Department of Agribusiness and Management, College of Agricultural Economics, Rural Sociology and Extension.
He is also the Director of the Agribusiness Incubation Centre at the university.
He said: “I joined the services of MOUAU as Assistant lecturer in 2007.
“I obtained my doctorate from the same university in 2009.
“I was promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer in 2015.
“Ordinarily, my promotion to the rank of a professor should be in 2021.
“All my mates and junior colleagues have been promoted to the rank of professors, except me.”
He queried why his file should be abandoned by the governing council, in spite scaling through all the stages involved in the rigorous procedure for assessment and promotion of staff.
According to Nto, the issue is that after the council has sat for more than 10 times, the chairman willfully obstructed the release of my promotion.
Nto said that he went on leave of absence, from 2013 to 2015, to serve Abia in two capacities, first as Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning.
He said he equally served as the Provost of Abia State College of Education, Technical, Arochukwu, from 2016 to 2023.
“The interesting thing here is that during those periods, I still taught my students (both undergraduates and postgraduates) and even supervised those doing their postgraduate programmes,” he said.
Nto said that he duly returned to his desk at MOUAU in 2023 and applied for the assessment of his relevant papers for promotion.
He said that his application was in line with the 2003 Condition of Service and standard academic procedure that permitted his leave of absence.
“I was initially told that I could not be assessed because the period that I was on leave of absence could not be counted for me as having worked, following a new condition of service, which just took effect.
“Basically, I know such conditions cannot apply retroactively.
“When I referred the management to the Condition of Service in operation before I was granted the leave of absence, it recapitulated and gave approval for my assessment,” Nto said.
Reacting to the development, MOUAU Chief Public Relations Officer, Dr Ubadire Agua, said that the Pro-Chancellor (Chairman) does not have any power under the law to refuse or stop the promotion of any staff of the university presented to the council.
“The university, under the leadership of Prof. Maduebibisi Iwe as Vice-Chancellor, has not withheld any staff promotion.
“In fact, everyone who is qualified, according to the rules and regulations of the University, gets his or her promotion when due,” Agua said.
(NAN)
