The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abubakar Rasheed, a professor, has “stepped down” from the head of the universities’ regulatory body, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.
Effective 30 June, Mr Rasheed will stop being the head of the NUC, the position he assumed in 2016 when he took over from Chiedu Mafiana, also a professor, who headed the commission in an acting capacity.
Mr Rasheed reportedly announced his resignation in Abuja on Monday while presenting the approval certificate to a new university in Kogi State.
A top official of the commission, who does not want to be quoted, claiming he was not authorised to speak on the matter, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday afternoon.
The source said Mr Rasheed “stepped down” to continue his journey in academia at the Bayero University, Kano (BUK), where he was a lecturer before taking up the NUC job.
FIRS
“He stepped down for personal reasons and his desire to return to Bayero University, (BUK) Kano,” the source said.
Board dissolution order
Meanwhile, Mr Rasheed’s decision is coming a few weeks after President Bola Tinubu approved the dissolution of governing boards of agencies and parastatals of the government but with a few exceptions.
NUC, like about 22 other agencies under the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and the federal government-owned tertiary institutions, were affected by the president’s sweeping order.
Since the directive was issued, affected agencies have been without governing boards as the heads of the concerned agencies have been mandated to direct their decisions requiring boards’ interventions to the Presidency through the permanent secretaries of the ministries.
The permanent secretaries were also asked to route the requests through the office of the Office Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).
During his tenure as the head of the body regulating university education in Nigeria, Mr Rasheed spearheaded the unbundling of mass communication into seven distinct fields of study, including Journalism and Media Studies, Public Relations, Advertising, Broadcasting, Film and Multimedia Studies, Development Communication and Information and Media Studies.
His tenure also witnessed the establishment of 72 private universities in Nigeria.
Mr Rasheed is a seasoned academic with a Bachelor of Art, two Masters and a PhD from BUK, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the University of Nottingham, England.
Mr Rasheed began his teaching career in July 1981 as a graduate assistant in the Department of English and European Languages of Bayero University, where he became a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department in 10 years.
In April 1993, he left the university to join the New Nigeria Newspapers Limited as a journalist, where he was appointed the Editor of the Sunday paper. He became the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Newspaper in 1995.
In May 1999, Mr Rasheed left journalism to go back to the classroom in BUK.
At BUK, he served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) (2007-2009), Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) (2009-2010), Acting Vice-Chancellor (July 5-August 17, 2010), and as the university’s vice-chancellor between 2010-2015.
Credit: Premium Times
