The House of Representatives Committee on University Education has faulted the alleged absence of two vice chancellors during its oversight visits to federal universities in the South-East.

The Committee Chairman, Abubakar Fulata, expressed displeasure over the reported absence of the Vice Chancellors of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof Ugochukwu Anyaehie, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof Simon Ortuanya, during the committee’s visits to the institutions on Friday.

He also faulted the alleged failure of the two universities to provide their representatives with relevant documents detailing their recent administrative and financial activities for presentation to the committee.

Fulata said the absence of the vice chancellors and the lack of supporting documents made it difficult for the committee to obtain a comprehensive account of the institutions’ operations.

The committee chairman spoke on Friday during an oversight visit to federal universities in the South-East geopolitical zone to assess their performance and implementation of the 2025 and 2026 Appropriation Acts.

He urged vice chancellors and management teams of federal universities to ensure prudent and effective utilisation of available resources, noting that proper management of public funds was critical to the development of the institutions and the nation’s education sector.

Fulata said the exercise was part of the committee’s constitutional responsibility and would enable lawmakers to evaluate how funds appropriated to the institutions had been utilised before considering subsequent budget proposals.

He said, “Ordinarily, we should be in our various constituencies campaigning for our re-election in January 2027, but we have to leave our respective states to carry out this constitutional and mandatory responsibility of oversight.”

According to him, the visits would provide lawmakers with first-hand information on the financial and operational performance of the universities and help identify areas requiring government intervention.

He stressed that the exercise was not intended to intimidate university administrators or witch-hunt any institution but to ensure accountability and value for public expenditure.

Beyond the accountability concerns, the committee also raised concerns over the deplorable condition of the access road leading to the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, and appealed to the Imo State Government and the Federal Ministry of Works to urgently address the situation.

The Vice Chancellor of FUTO, Prof Ikechukwu Dozie, drew the committee’s attention to the poor state of the road linking the university to neighbouring communities, as well as cases of land encroachment affecting the institution. He appealed for the committee’s intervention and support in securing the relevant government agencies’ attention.

At Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Stella Lemchi, appealed for government support to address infrastructure and operational challenges confronting the institution following its transition to a federal university.

Lemchi identified the need for additional lecture halls and academic buildings, improved road networks and erosion control, reliable electricity and renewable energy facilities, as well as adequate student and staff accommodation.

She also called for improved student welfare services and investment in medical and emergency facilities, including a functional university medical centre with the capacity to respond effectively to emergencies.

Similarly, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Allied Health Sciences, Enugu, Prof John Emiamo, said the institution required urgent support to address shortages of personnel, medical and dental equipment, classrooms, auditoriums and laboratory buildings and equipment.

The committee also visited Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State; David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, Ebonyi State; and the National Institute for Nigerian Languages, Aba, Abia State.

The oversight exercise is expected to give the committee an opportunity to examine the state of infrastructure, staffing, teaching and research facilities, as well as the implementation of budgetary allocations across the institutions.

The findings are expected to inform the committee’s engagement with relevant government agencies and its consideration of future budgetary provisions for federal universities.

Efforts by Saturday PUNCH to obtain a response from Anyaehie and Ortuanya, proved abortive, as calls and text messages sent to them were not answered as of filing this report.