According to the report, the committee of Deans never sat on Pantami's case and the Professor who made the prima facie case for Pantami's papers was in an entirely different department.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has faulted the promotion of Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, as a professor of Cyber Security by the Federal University of Technology, Owerri in Imo State.
A report by the National Executive Council (NEC) Committee of the union also faulted the claims of a probe panel set up by the ASUU chapter of FUTO which claimed Pantami's appointment followed due process.
The NEC Committee report, obtained by SaharaReporters, noted that Pantami's appointment as a Professor of Cyber Security in FUTO did not follow due process as only one person established the prima facie case for the minister as against set rules of establishing prima facie by a committee and brought to the meeting of the Committee of Deans.
According to the report, the committee of Deans never sat on Pantami's case and the Professor who made the prima facie case for Pantami's papers was in an entirely different department.
A part of the report reads, “The establishment of prima facie case for professors is normally done by a committee and brought to the meeting of the Committee of Deans but in Dr. Ibrahim's case, only one person, Prof. G.A. Chukwudebe looked at his papers to establish the prima facie case.
“The committee of Deans never sat on his case. The Professor who made the prima facie case for Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim's papers is in electrical engineering and not in cyber security.
“Dr. Ibrahim was never assigned any office in the Department of Cyber Security.”
The report also revealed that Pantami applied for the position and the institution approved his appointment.
Upon acceptance on March 30, 2021, Pantami claimed he would resume at the institution the following day but never stepped on the university grounds nor went for documentation.
The report added that the findings of the probe panel set up by the ASUU FUTO chapter simply tried to exonerate the University and never did a thorough work.
It also said the panel report was regarded as not reflective of the opinions of members of ASUU FUTO.
A section of the report reads: “Dr. Ibrahim applied for the position of Professor of Cyber Security based on which Council met on 19 March 2021 and approved his appointment as Professor of Cyber Security (See Communication to him from the Registrar).
“He accepted the appointment on 30 March 2021 and the University received the acceptance letter that same day. He claimed in his acceptance letter that he would resume duty on 31 March 2021. However, he never stepped on FUTO ground and never came for documentation."
It added: “The IPC of ASUU FUTO Branch, Dr. Chris Echereobia worked with members of congress loyal to him and the University administration to cover up the truth about the appointment of Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim.
“The IPC undermined the leadership of ASUU Owerri Zone. The IPC kept the Branch Exco in the dark about the report to the University of any wrongdoing on the appointment and promotion of Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim. The branch committee did not do a thorough work yet it exonerated the University
“The branch committee report was not a true reflection of the position of ASUU FUTO. The IPC stuck to a report that would please the University Management at the expense of Congress members.
“The recommendation by the branch committee shows that the committee worked for the interest of the University Management.”
Nigerians have described Pantami as a closet extremist after the Islamist views he held in the past came to light in 2021.
The Muhammadu Buhari government, however, said it would stand by the minister.
Pantami expressed views sympathetic to groups such as al-Qaeda and Boko Haram.
In a sermon from the 2000s, he said he considered al-Qaeda founder, Osama Bin Laden, a better Muslim than himself. For instance, in a 2006 speech, he publicly offered his condolences after the death of al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
In another, he said he was happy when infidels were massacred.