Secretary to the Kano State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji has said the controversial appointment reportedly offered Gov. Abdulahi Ganduje by East Carolina University was an attempt to embarrass the governor.
Governor Ganduje was reportedly offered an appointment by the American university to the position of Senior Mentoring Scholar and Visiting Full Professor of e-governance and International Affairs in the university on November 30, 2020.
The spokesman to Governor Ganduje, Abba Anwar, had on Tuesday said the governor’s appointment was contained in a letter sent to him by the school through a lecturer of the International Centre for IT and Development, Victor Mbarika, at the university’s College of Business on November 30.
In a twist, the university’s Interim Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr Grant Hayes, in a letter to Ganduje, dated December 4, 2020, titled, ‘Re: Unavailability of Faculty Appointment,’ read: “I must inform you that that the letter you received from Dr Victor Mbarika on November 30, 2020 does not convey an authorised offer of appointment or establish any position of scholar or professor at East Carolina University.”
In its reaction, the state government, on Sunday issued a statement signed by the Secretary to the Kano State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, calling for a disciplinary action against the faculty member, who stirred the controversy, in an attempt to embarrass the governor and the good people of the state.
According to the state government, while the Governor or any official of the government had no reason to doubt the veracity of the letter sent by one of its faculty members, which was communicated, using the university’s instrument of office, it equally did not at any time solicit for such appointment.
“We are deeply saddened by the uproar, ignited by this controversial appointment, in an attempt, to embarrass the person of the governor and the good people of Kano State,” the statement read in part.
According to SSG, given the governor academic background, he would not have accepted a fraudulent appointment into academic position in any university or institution of higher learning anywhere.
However, he called on the management of East Carolina University to apologise to the state Governor, Abdulahi Ganduje over the controversial appointment offered him.
