By Segun Adewale, Bauchi
The Vice Chancellor, of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Professor Ibrahim Hassan Garba has commended the University community for the solid support and co-operation being rendered to his administration since he assumed office in 2024.
He made the commendation when the two University based Staff Unions of SSANU and NASU separately paid him a solidarity visit in his office.
Chairman of SSANU, Comrade Sulisma Dauda Jatau who visited the VC along with his EXCO members on Monday, September, 22nd, 2025, told the Vice-Chancellor that the Union has noted with pride the style of the administration of Professor Ibrahim Hassan Garba, especially in financial prudence and the rule of law.
He said that the efforts of the adminitration in students welfare, staff welfare and academic quality assuarance are very commendable.
He however, noted a recent media campaign against the Vice Chancellor as very unfortunate.
According to him, the Vice Chancellor and, indeed, the University as an institution, did not deserve an unnecessary negative media publicity, a situation he described as highly regrettable to the image and integrity of the University.
He assured the Vice Chancellor that SSANU will always support the Vice-Chancellor in any genuine effort at advancing the academic excellence of the University.
Similarly, the Chairman of NASU, Comrade Yusuf D. Yusuf who also paid a visit along with his EXCO members told the Vice-Chancellor that NASU was puzzled by the recent escalation of negative media publicity that trailed the University over a Federal Government policy decision which was announced by the Pro-Chancellor to University based Unions but wrongly attributed as the intiative of the Vice Chancellor.
He assured the Vice Chancellor that the Union will always rally behind the Vice Chancellor in his genuine efforts to address the challenges of the University.
In his separate response to the visiting Union leaders , the Vice – Chancellor said he was overwhelmed by their solidarity and thanked them for their patriotism and foresight.
He said that both the staff and students of the University have no pride to show more than to see ATBU progressing in its mandate as a revered citadel of learning.
He said that his administration believes in financial prudence and academic justice.
According go him, the myriad of challenges facing the University cannot be handled lightly as he is poised to face them vigorously until he is able to surmount them
“When I assumed office, I met a very huge amount of debt on the University. I have been able to settle nearly one-third of that loan in the last few months I am here, without incurring any fresh loan at all”, he said.
In the area of staff and students’ welfare, he said the University has refurbished five luxirious buses and are now on the road to ease students’ shuttle between Gubi and Yelwa campuses.
Similarly, a 32-seater bus is nearly ready to be added to the existing staff bus also to ease staff transportation to work.
According to him, “You may be aware that we have started refurbishing the eleven grounded tractors owned by the University. Six of them were made ready and are currently involved in this year’s farming season.
“Two more are almost ready now and the rest will have their refurbishng completed immediately after the next two are delivered “ the Vice Chancellor revealed.
The VC stressed that, “Our major aim is to support staff and members of the Bauchi community who are farming on our campuses with a subsidised rate charged at less than 30% of commercial rate in town”.
He also said that the management has proposed a seamless process of promotion exercise that will in the future eliminate or reduce to the barest minimum the issue of long period for implementing staff promotions.
It will be recalled that the Vice-Chancellor was wrongly accused in the media by a certain Bauchi-based group of unilaterally and of misguiding the Governing Council of the University to close down the Faculty of Management Sciences and certain courses in the Faculty of Technology Education.
A decision the public were later made to understand that it actually came from the Federal Government and had nothing to do with the Vice-Chancellor as contained in a statement signed by Zailani Bappa.
