The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has elected Prof. Chris Piwuna, a consultant psychiatrist at the University of Jos Teaching Hospital and Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Jos, as its new president.
Prof. Piwuna succeeds Prof. Victor Osodeke, a soil science professor from the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State. His emergence was confirmed at the union’s 23rd National Delegates Congress held in Benin on Sunday.
According to reports, Piwuna defeated Prof. Adamu Babayo of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, in a tightly contested election.
His leadership begins at a time of heightened anxiety within Nigeria’s university system. Concerns over the distribution of the recently disbursed Earned Academic Allowances, a growing wave of academic brain drain, and long-standing disputes over funding have reignited speculations about the possibility of fresh industrial action.
