How Ctg City Corpn lost control of Premier University to Mohiuddin family

Despite funding its establishment and providing the land, the Chattogram City Corporation slowly lost control of Premier University to the family of the late mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury due to their political influence.  

For 13 years, two city mayors, including Mohiuddin, served as chairmen of the Board of Trustees. However, in 2016, Mohiuddin, despite not being the mayor, used his political power to take over the university with his family. 

Despite court rulings, his son, former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, and his family have used the university as a personal asset for over seven years, sources alleged.

There are also allegations that Nowfel misused his power to secure a permanent charter despite not meeting the required conditions.

To make this control permanent, Saiful Alam Masud, the head of S Alam Group—a key figure accused of laundering billions—along with three of his family members, was included on the board. 

Meanwhile, the absence of any control over the university for such a long period has resulted in a loss of income for the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC), according to sources.

Currently, Premier University hosts over 6,000 students in 14 departments within its six faculties. The university employs over 300 staff members, including more than 100 teachers. Its annual budget is approximately Tk71 crore.

Beginning of Premier University 

According to CCC records, Premier University was approved for establishment in 2002 based on an application submitted on the corporation's letterhead. ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury originally conceived the idea of the university.

The university initially operated from a building owned by the City Corporation. Early operations were managed by the Corporation's staff. 

Subsequently, two buildings were constructed on City Corporation land near the CSCR Hospital and above the WASA filling station. The total expenditure for the three buildings was Tk46.93 crore paid from the corporation's funds. 

ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury served as mayor from 1994 to 2010, and during this time, he was ex officio chairman of the university's Board of Trustees for eight years. 

After losing the mayoral election in 2010 to his political rival, M Manjur Alam, he also lost his position as chairman. Manjur, however, appointed Mohiuddin as a trustee member.

In 2015, with the election of AJM Nasir Uddin as mayor, conflicts over the university's control arose due to longstanding political rivalries between Nasir and Mohiuddin.

Former mayor Manjur told The Business Standard that during his tenure, a resolution was passed in the City Corporation's general meeting to appoint Mohiuddin as a trustee. 

"The university remained a City Corporation asset while I was in office. What happened after the new mayor took over, I do not know," he added.

Legal battles 

On 14 July 2015, the University Grants Commission (UGC) sent a letter to the new mayor, Nasir Uddin, instructing him to address staffing gaps and quickly form a new Board of Trustees, as the previous board's registration was outdated. The UGC also requested an audit of the university's accounts from 2011 to 2014 by a chartered accountant firm.

However, Mohiuddin challenged the UGC's letter in December 2015, arguing that the letter should have been addressed to the university's vice-chancellor or registrar rather than to the mayor. 

He filed a writ petition in the High Court, questioning why the City Corporation's involvement in the private university should not be declared illegal. 

The court issued a rule on preventing any interference with Mohiuddin's role in university activities until the matter was resolved and sought clarification on why Mohiuddin could not form a new Board of Trustees as the university's founder.

On 12 June 2016, the High Court dismissed Mohiuddin's petition, directing him to seek remedy through a civil court. The court, however, observed that neither the Chattogram City Corporation Ordinance of 1982 nor the Private University Act of 1992 authorised the CCC to establish a university.

During the case, the UGC also revoked the letter issued to the City Corporation. 

The City Corporation filed a review petition, and in May 2017, the High Court ruled that the observation regarding the establishment of the university would not be applicable to any party.

Against the rule, Mohiuddin filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the Appellate Division, but on 7 January 2019, the court dismissed it due to his absence at the hearing. 

Following the dismissal of the case and the lack of further litigation by Mohiuddin, there was no legal barrier for the CCC to control the university.

However, the mayor was not appointed as trustee chairman. In 2019, Mohiuddin's son, Nowfel, who became the deputy minister of education, allegedly used his influence to include individuals of his choice as members of the Board of Trustees. 

Additionally, under informal directives from party leadership, the then mayor Nasir Uddin was forced to relinquish control of the university and Nowfel became trustee chairman.

Several officials of the CCC told TBS that while other city corporations do not run educational institutions, Chattogram does. There should be no issue in managing the university. 

Despite losing in court, the Mohiuddin family managed to retain control of the university through pressure from Sheikh Hasina, they said, adding that this is widely known within the CCC.

Influence of Nowfel

After Mohiuddin's death in 2017, his eldest son, Nowfel, took over his father's political role and assumed control of Premier University, according to CCC officials.

Among the 12 members of the university's trustee board, three are from the Mohiuddin family: Nowfel as chairman, along with his mother, Hasina Mohiuddin, and his younger brother, Borhanul Hasan Chowdhury. 

The board also includes representatives from the S Alam Group, Awami League's office secretary Biplab Barua, Nasir Uddin Yusuf Bacchu, university vice-chancellor Professor Anupam Sen, Raymond Areng, engineer Shahidul Alam, and former MP Sabihah Musa.

Despite holding ministerial positions since 2019, Nowfel did not relinquish his role as chairman of the trustee board. 

Allegations have been rife that the university is being used as a family as well as political asset. Decisions on appointments and other matters were made unilaterally by Nowfel, bypassing UGC opinions, and the university often ignored regulatory guidelines.

Professor Anupam Sen has served as vice-chancellor for nearly 16 years, exceeding the 75-year age limit for private university vice-chancellors. 

A senior UGC official, speaking anonymously, told TBS that Nowfel's dual role as trustee chairman and minister led to a conflict of interest, causing a lack of accountability. 

Despite regulations requiring a permanent, clea, and dispute-free campus for obtaining a permanent charter, the university was granted one in 2021 through Nowfel's influence, said the official. 

Since the Awami League government's fall, Nowfel and the Mohiuddin family have been in hiding. Registrar Khurshidur Rahman, also implicated in the university's irregularities, has taken leave. Attempts to contact both Khurshidur and Vice-Chancellor Anupam Sen have been unsuccessful.

Chattogram City Corporation CEO, Sheikh Muhammad Touhidul Islam, told TBS that the Corporation established the university on its own land and with its own funds. It was once under the CCC's jurisdiction but that jurisdiction has since been lost. 

"We will discuss with the divisional commissioner on the necessary actions to be taken," he added.