A probe panel constituted by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the infractions in Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) elevation of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami, to the rank of a Professor of Cybersecurity has cleared the Governing Council and the management of the institution on the issue.
According to the report, “following some misgivings over the appointment of Pantami as a Professor in the School of Information and Communication Technology (SICT), the ASUU FUTO’s Congress on September 22nd, 2021 set up the investigation committee.”
The report signed by the Chairman of the committee, Prof M. S. Nwakaudu and four other members noted that the university followed due process and subjected Pantami’s publications to evaluation by external assessors and also established a prima facie case for him to be appointed a Professor of Cybersecurity.
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“From our findings and evidence before the panel, members are of the opinion that the appointment of Dr Isa Ibrahim as a Professor of Cybersecurity by the FUTO Governing Council followed due process.
“The internal inquiry confirmed that due process was followed by both the Governing Council and the management of FUTO to appoint Pantami a professor of Cybersecurity in the School of Information and Communication Technology (SICT).
Adding that, “the panel strongly recommends that the University management should as a matter of urgency take appropriate actions, including legal action, against those who deliberately try to drag the image and reputation of FUTO to the mud.”
ASUU’s investigation reveals that, Pantami’s appointment is not a shelf job. The panel listed the procedures adopted to make Pantami a Professor as follows: “Copies of advertisement for Academic and Academic Support Staff Vacancies in FUTO for the positions of professor, reader, senior lecturer, etc., which appeared in the DAILY SUN and THE GUARDIAN on Monday, September 21, 2020 and Tuesday, September 22, 2020 respectively.”
