Aspirants to VC position behind my ordeals —UNILORIN VC

THE vice chancellor, University of Ilorin, Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali, has described recent allegations against authorities of the university as the handiwork of those eyeing his position.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Monday, the vice chancellor denied allegations of financial impropriety leveled against him and his predecessor, Professor Isiaq Oloyede, saying that such smear campaign had become a tradition by aspirants to the vice chancellor position in the university.

Professor Ambali accused a faction of the local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of being behind his ordeal, and that the onslaughts were meant to smear the reputation the university had established over the years.

He said: “I won’t be surprised as I have been told that it is the tradition of some people; whenever the tenure of a vice chancellor is coming to an end, they embark on smear campaigns against him.

“However, the rising tempo of attacks on my administration is a wrong approach to succeed in life. If you want the seat of the vice chancellor, there are laid down procedures by the government. You don’t destroy somebody in order to occupy his place.

“You can as well be a fellow good passenger in the bus, so that the bus can get to its destination safely and peacefully, and all of you can disembark and go home. But by destroying the same vehicle you want to use to get to your own destination, nobody will get there.

“All the allegations that are going round are calculated at undermining all the 17 years of uninterrupted academic calendar the university has earned. That, to me, is very unfortunate,” he stated.

On the last year expulsion of UNILORIN by the national ASUU, Professor Ambali  said: “They told every university in Nigeria not to associate with us; that in all academic and social matters all other universities in Nigeria should boycott us. That was not a wise decision, because in matters pertaining to education, we should be liberal and allow everybody to interact at whatever levels and exchange academic materials.”