Education Minister Tunji Alausa has summoned FUTO Vice-Chancellor Ikechukwu Dozie to Abuja after the newly appointed university chief hired 24 aides just three days into his tenure — prompting a ministerial directive to reverse the appointments immediately.
He hadn’t even settled into his chair before the trouble started.
Ikechukwu Dozie, the ninth substantive Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), assumed office on June 19 — and by June 22, just three days later, had already signed off on the appointment of 24 aides through an internal memo issued by the Office of the Registrar.
Premium Times reported that the appointments spanned a coordinator for the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, an executive assistant, and a string of special assistants covering protocol, projects, communication, student support services and general duties, among others. It was, by any measure, an ambitious start.
Too ambitious, according to Education Minister Tunji Alausa.
In a letter dated June 25 and signed by Acting Director of University Education Kareem Lateef, the minister described the appointments as irregular and issued a firm directive: withdraw them — now.
“I am directed to request that the said memorandum be withdrawn forthwith and that documentary evidence confirming the withdrawal be forwarded to the ministry without delay in compliance with the directive of the minister,” the letter stated.
The minister didn’t stop there. Dozie has been summoned to the Ministry of Education on June 29 for what promises to be an uncomfortable conversation about institutional governance, administrative accountability, due process and regulatory compliance — a full menu of uncomfortable topics for a man barely a week into his new role.
“I am directed to invite you to the Ministry on Monday, 29 June 2026, for further engagement on this matter and other related issues touching on institutional governance, administrative accountability, due process, and strict adherence to the regulatory framework governing the administration of Federal Universities in Nigeria,” parts of the letter read.
FUTO moved quickly to contain the fallout. A reversal memo dated June 24 — signed by Registrar Chiedozie Uba — announced the withdrawal of the appointments before the ministry’s letter even went public.
For a vice-chancellor who succeeded Professor Nnenna Oti with presumably high expectations, it’s a turbulent — and deeply avoidable — beginning.
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