ASUU raises alarm over alleged plan by LASU to sack members

THE Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has raised the alarm over the alleged plan by the management of the Lagos State University, LASU, Ojo, to unjustly terminate the appointment of three of its members at LASU chapter.

The union gave the names of the concerned ASUU-LASU members as Dr Tony Dansu, Dr Adeolu Oyekan and Dr Oluwafemi Aboderin-Shonibare, who are secretary, assistant secretary and treasurer respectively, saying the management was planning to sack them for allegedly exposing a document that unduly backdated the promotion of the incumbent vice-chancellor, Prof Olarenwaju Fagbohun, from the associate to full-fledged professor.

Addressing newsmen on Thursday at LASU, the south-west coordinators of ASUU, comprising Lagos, Ibadan, Akure and Benin zones, said it was unheard of in what they called a sane society to punish someone on the basis of exposing a wrongdoing of another person or institution.

Speaking on behalf of all, Prof Sowande Olusiji, the Lagos zonal coordinator of ASUU, and convener of the congress held at LASU yesterday in solidarity with the so-called victimised members, said what should LASU governing council does is to investigate the allegation of undue backdated professorship of the VC to 2007/2008 instead of 2014 and not the source of the information as a way to rope the whistle-blowers.

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He said what should be a concern to the council should be whether the allegation is true or not and then take a decision on the outcome either in favour of the whistle-blowers or the person accused.

He accused the leadership of the University of trying to suppress the activities of ASUU members in the university so as to be able to operate with impunity.

“And ASUU can never be caged. We have the rights to association and expression of opinions,” he stressed. “So, castigating our members for being in possession of documents of any worker in our universities especially in this era of freedom of information law shouldn’t arise.”

He, however, said the four zones would embark on a peaceful protest to the governor of Lagos State, who is also the visitor to the university, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, today, to register their grievances on the matter and other displeased happenings in the university.

Reacting to the promotion allegation, the university management said ASUU claims though baseless, were being investigated by the governing council and the union should, therefore, wait for the outcome and not pre-empt it.

The university’s spokesman, Mr Ademola Adekoya, who reacted on behalf of the university, told Nigerian Tribune that the university was also interested in probing the source of documents containing the backdating of the vice-chancellor promotion to professor.

According to him, the document that ASUU is quoted to have contained the alleged backdated promotion was a classified one and should not be in the public domain.

He, therefore, said the former registrar, Mr Akinwunmi Lewis, who ASUU alleged of carrying out the promotion exercise unilaterally follow due process on the matter.