Bauchi Varsity’s Unions SSANU, NASU Thumb Up VC

By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi

Members of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Unions comprising SSANU and NASU have thrown weights behind the administration of Vice Chancellorship of Ibrahim Hassan Garba, saying his leadership efforts in students, staff welfare and academic are very commendable.

They made the commendations in separate solidarity visits to the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Ibrahim Hassan Garba where the unions noted with dissatisfaction the recent media campaign against the Vice-Chancellor, describing it as very unfortunate.

The Chairman of NASU, Comrade Yusuf D. Yusuf who also paid a visit along with his EXCO, told the Vice-Chancellor that union was puzzled by the recent escalation of negative media publicity that trailed the University over a Federal Government policy decision recently announced by the University’s Pro-Chancellor,
wrongly attributed to the VC’s initiative.

Comrade Yusuf D. Yusuf explained that the Vice-Chancellor and, indeed, the University as an institution, did not deserve an unnecessary negative media publicity, a situation he described as highly regrettable to the image and integrity of the University.

The leadership of SSANU on its turn assured the Vice–Chancellor that its members will always support him in any genuine effort at advancing the academic excellence of the University.

The SSANU Chairman, Comrade Sulisma Dauda Jatau therefore assured the Vice Chancellor that the union will always rally behind the Vice Chancellor in his genuine efforts to address the challenges of the University.

Comrade Sulisma Jatau said that the Union has noted with pride the style of the administration of Professor Ibrahim Hassan Garba, especially in financial prudence and the rule of law.

Responding separately to the visit of the two unions, the institution’s Vice Chancellor said that he was overwhelmed by their solidarity and thanked them for their patriotism and foresight.

Professor Ibrahim Hassan Garba noted that both the staff and students of the University have no pride to show more than to see ATBU progressing in its mandate as a revered citadel of learning.

Garba explained that his administration believes in financial prudence and academic justice, stressing that the myriad of challenges facing the University cannot be handled lightly as he is poised to face them vigorously until he is able to surmount them

He recalled, “When I assumed office, I met a very huge amount of debt on the University. I have been able to settle nearly one-third of that loan in the last few months I am here, without incurring any fresh loan at all”.

The Vice Chancellor enumerated some of the achievements recorded during his one year in office to include refurbishing of five luxurious buses that are now on the road to ease students’ shuttle between Gubi and Yelwa campuses.

The 32-seater bus, he further revealed is nearly ready to be added to the existing staff bus shuttle to ease transportation to work, adding “You may be aware that we have started refurbishing the eleven grounded tractors owned by the University”.

According to him, six of them were made ready and are currently involved in this year’s farming season, while two more are almost ready, and the rest will have their refurbishing completed immediately after the next two are delivered.

He revealed, “Our major aim is to support staff and members of the Bauchi community who are farming on our campuses with a subsidized rate charged at less than 30% of commercial rate in town”.

Professor Ibrahim Garba further disclosed that the varsity’s management has proposed a seamless process of promotion exercise that will in the future eliminate or reduce to the barest minimum the issue of long period for implementing of staff promotions.

The Vice Chancellor then commended the University community for the solid support and co-operation being rendered to his administration since assumption to office last year.

The university’s Director of Information, Zailani Bappa said in the statement on Wednesday that the Vice-Chancellor was wrongly accused in the media by a certain Bauchi-based group of unilaterity and of misguiding the Governing Council of the University to close down the Faculty of Management Sciences.

Malam Zailani Bappa explained that certain courses in the Faculty of Technology Education were similarly closed down following the Federal Government’s policy decision which the public were later made to understand, and had nothing to do with the Vice-Chancellor.