Less than three months after Professor Abayomi Fasina assumed as the new Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), a crisis may be brewing in the institution following the removal of two principal officers over alleged gross misconduct.
On April 28, the governing council sacked the registrar, Mr Olatunbosun Odusanya, after he was suspended a week earlier over alleged irregular recruitments into the university and the embattled registrar had since petitioned the Senate president, Ahmed Lawan, saying his removal did not follow due process.
This development made some staff protest last week in the university against the sack which they described as a witch-hunt by the new VC who succeeded Professor Kayode Soremekun in February.
As the former registrar is battling to fight what he called injustice, the university management again suspended the bursar, Mrs Bolatito Akande, over what the institution says are allegations from staff unions in the institution.
The suspension letter which she received through WhatsApp and signed by the VC read in part: “You would please note that the University Governing Council at the 23rd Statutory meeting held on Thursday 1st April, 2021 considered the allegations levied against you and the Registrar by the joint Action Committee of SSANU, NASU, and NAAT.
“In line with the regulation governing the condition of service, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of council has directed that your appointment be suspended from the university with half salary with immediate effect pending the determination of the case against you.”
Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital on Sunday, Mrs Akande described her suspension as illegal, accusing the management of using security agencies to chase and harass her from office.
She regretted how the security apparatuses deployed by the vice-chancellor had last Thursday prevented her from entering her office despite not being found culpable of any offence.
Akande, explained that the personal assistant to the vice-chancellor sent a message to her last week informing her of a petition written by Joint Action Committee against her and that a panel has been set up by the management to probe into all the allegations raised.
According to her, she found it demeaning, humiliating and dehumanising that she was harassed by security agencies while trying to gain access to her office last Thursday, saying such brigandage shouldn’t exist in any higher institution of learning.
She added, “A text message was sent to me last week Wednesday by one Abayomi Kuku, that I was to appear before a panel of an investigation last Thursday by 11: 00 am. I honoured them and immediately I left the venue of the panel and got back to my office, I met two security men at the entrance and I discovered the office had been locked. The two men informed me that the order was from above.
“I put a call to the vice-chancellor to confirm the development, he told me that he never knew anything about it, that I should contact the Chief Security Officer of the institution.
“All my belongings including the handbag that I brought to the office on that day were locked inside the office. As I am talking to you now, they were still inside the office, they didn’t allow me to have access to the office.
“Similarly, no single letter was given to me from the management of the institution, except the one sent to me by the Personal Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor via text message. In fact, I was chased out of office like a child and low ranking officer. This I found unlawful, embarrassing and undignifying.”
But the Special Adviser on Media Matters to the Vice-Chancellor, Wole Balogun, denied the allegation, saying all the security men deployed were at the gate of the university to maintain law and order, adding, “they could not have prevented her from entering the office.”
Balogun posited that the suspension slammed on the Bursar was to allow an unfettered probe into the allegations raised against her, saying she has not been sacked as being misinterpreted.
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