Yakubu Gowon University, formerly known as the University of Abuja, has become embroiled in another controversy. Professor Jibrin Edicha Abdullahi has been accused of remaining the head of the Geography Department despite being on a one-year sabbatical at the National Defence College.
According to documents obtained by SaharaReporters, Abdullahi’s promotion from Associate Professor to Professor was backdated to October 1, 2020, by the former Vice Chancellor, Prof Abdulrasheed Na’Allah.
This irregularity has raised eyebrows, particularly since Abdullahi was reappointed as the Head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Science for a two-year term starting from July 31, 2023.
Sources within the university have revealed that Abdullahi applied for a one-year sabbatical leave without resigning from his position as Head of Department.
In his application letter, dated September 27, 2024, Abdullahi stated that he would research Geo-strategy and supervise officers at the National Defence College. The letter was subsequently approved on October 7, 2024.
However, instead of focusing on his research, Abdullahi has allegedly been “harassing people and chairing disciplinary committee meetings” at the university, sparking concerns among students and faculty members.
The university community has questioned how Abdullahi can remain the Head of the Department while on sabbatical, with some have attributed this anomaly to “Aisha’s Magic,” referring to the former acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof Aisha Maikudi.
The controversy has raised concerns about the university’s governance and the influence of former Vice Chancellor Na’Allah, who has been accused of promoting Abdullahi despite irregularities.
The university community is calling for Abdullahi to provide acceptable answers to these allegations.
“It is not clear how the Head of an Academic Department could apply to go on sabbatical to another organisation without first resigning from the position of HoD,” a university source said, describing the situation as “Aisha’s Magic”.
“How can a Vice Chancellor, the same Vice Chancellor who reappointed him as Head of Department, go ahead and also approve the release of the HoD to proceed on sabbatical while still remaining the HoD?”
Prof Edicha, however, denied the allegations when SaharaReporters contacted him, adding that he had left the department in January.
“It is not true; I have since January left the department. I am not the current Head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Science as we speak. I have not been to the university for the past three weeks now. So it is not true; you can reach out to the university authority to find out,” he maintained.
When reached for comment, the university’s spokesperson, Dr. Habib Yakoob, said he had no comment on the matter.
“Well, thank you for reaching out. I don’t have any comment on this matter at the moment,” he said in a WhatsApp message.
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