The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has been accused of desperately lobbying and influence the appointment of his ally, Professor Hamzat Adebayo, into a top management position at the University of Abuja.
Sources familiar with the development revealed on Tuesday to SaharaReporters, that Alausa is working behind the scenes to compensate Adebayo, whose ambition to become the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) in Katsina State was aborted following exposing reports of gross misconduct and his subsequent dismissal by the university’s Governing Council.
Adebayo was quietly transferred to the University of Abuja through his long-standing relationship with Alausa, who is now allegedly pressuring the university administration to hand him a senior management role.
Speaking with SaharaReporters, a whistleblower within the academic community warned the university’s leadership against succumbing to political pressure from the minister to foist an unfit administrator on the institution.
“The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, is desperate to influence the appointment of his friend, Professor Hamzat Adebayo, who failed in his vice-chancellor ambition at Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) after SaharaReporters published the gross indiscipline that forced him out of the VC race and eventually led to his disgraceful exit after being fired by the Governing Council,” the source disclosed.
“He was quietly moved to the University of Abuja through his long-time ally, Minister of Education Tunji Alausa, and now the same minister is lobbying to compensate Professor Hamzat with a top management position in the University of Abuja.
“We are appealing to the Governing Council and the entire good people of the University of Abuja community to resist any attempt to install Professor Hamzat Adebayo into any appointment, having been found guilty of insubordination and unauthorized absence, prompting his ban from the campus before he was fired by the Governing Council of the university,” the source added.
SaharaReporters had in an exclusive report published on May 8, 2025, detailed how the management and Governing Council of the Federal University Dutsin-Ma banned Adebayo from setting foot on the institution’s campus over acts bordering on gross misconduct, unauthorized absence from duty, and insubordination.
Prior to his sack, Adebayo had launched a fierce contest for the Vice-Chancellorship of FUDMA. However, internal investigations into his antecedents exposed severe administrative violations and breaches of university statutes, culminating in his formal ban from the campus premises and ultimate dismissal by the Governing Council.
Despite his tainted track record and formal dismissal from FUDMA, political patronage spearheaded by Alausa facilitated his discreet absorption into the academic staff of the University of Abuja.
The latest scheme to elevate Adebayo into executive leadership at UNIABUJA has sparked anger among staff and stakeholders, who view the move as a flagrant abuse of ministerial power designed to subvert meritocracy and compromise governance standards in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
(SaharaReporters)