By The Governing Council of Federal University Wukari has approved the appointment of Prof. Benjamin Kefas as the new substantive Vice-Chancellor of the institution. The council also confirmed the appointment of Dr. Temboge Andrew as the new University Librarian.
The appointments were announced in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Acting Director of Information and Protocol of the university, Mrs. Agya Ashu. She disclosed that the decisions were reached during a meeting of the Governing Council held on Monday at the Secretariat of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities in Abuja.
According to the statement, the appointments followed the expiration of the five-year tenures of the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Jude Sammani Rabo, and the former University Librarian, Dr. Isa Sidi Attahir.
The emergence of Prof. Kefas, who is a biological brother to Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, has generated controversy in some quarters. Some stakeholders from southern Taraba raised concerns over possible external influence in the selection process and reportedly sent petitions to the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission.
However, officials from the Secretariat of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors dismissed the allegations, insisting that the selection process was transparent and free from any form of interference.
It was gathered that more than 30 candidates applied for the position of Vice-Chancellor, out of which four were shortlisted for the final interview. All the shortlisted candidates were indigenes of southern Taraba. Two candidates were also considered for the position of University Librarian.
After a thorough screening and interview process conducted on Monday, the Governing Council approved Prof. Kefas as the new Vice-Chancellor, while Dr. Andrew emerged as the new Librarian of the university.
