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Tag: UNIOSUN VC?

  • Earned allowances split UNIOSUN VC, workers

    Since the five-year moratorium on unionism was lifted at the Osun State University (UNIOSUN) in 2012, workers have been agitating for one thing or the other. The non-teaching staff are on strike. To the management, a “handful of troublemakers” are stoking the crisis under the guise of unionism. Union leaders contend that the management is high handed and victimises workers, with the “no work, no pay”rule being its latest weapon to end agitation for the payment of outstanding earned allowances. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA and ADESOJI ADENIYI (OSOGBO) report.

    With the “no work no pay” directive of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN), the battle between the management and the workers’ union over unpaid earned allowances appears to have heightened.

    Agitation for the earned allowances and hazard allowance dates back to 2012 when workers first demanded for it. When the Vice Chancellor Prof Labode Popoola assumed duty in November 2016, he inherited the earned allowances for the 2013/14 and 2014/15 sessions as well as unremitted pension and tax deductions.

    Though the payment was eventually approved in 2016, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the Visitor to the university, suspended the payment because the state was battling to pay salaries.This provoked workers protests, which almost culminated in the cancellation of the university’s convocation last year.

    The management insists that strike or no strike, academic activities must continue, while contentious issues should be resolved amicably. But the workers would have none of that. They said the strike declared on March 5, to press for the payment of their earned allowances must stand.

    Workers, under the umbrella of the Joint Action Congress (JAC), comprising the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union and Allied Institutions-(NASU), and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), told their members not to sign the attendance  registers opened in the six campuses of the university for those willing to work.

    JAC is calling for the head of the governing council  chairman Mallam Yusuf Ali, and the VC over plans to sack the union leaders. It also alleged corruption, high handedness and wastefulness on the part of management. The unions called for a probe of the financial activities of the 11-year-old institution.

    They  accused Popoola of squandering the N3 billion handed over to him when he took over. The VC denied the allegation, saying he inherited N1.8 billion.

    Popoola claimed that some union members collected money from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), but did not use it for what it was meant.

    Although the management set up a panel, which exonerated the VC, the workers still insisted that Popoola was guilty. It demanded that the panel should make its report public.

    Last month, the House of Assembly, Head of Service and heads of security agencies intervened, asked the parties to sheathe their swords and allow the lawmakers probe the allegations. The workers obeyed them.

    But the crisis resumed when the management was said to have suspended 10 union leaders over the allegations that they disturbed the peace of the institution with  their protests.

    After refusing to acknowledge the suspension letter forwarded to their email addresses, the management was said to have queried the workers and asked them to appear before the Staff Disciplinary Committee (SDC) to explain why they protested in the institution.

    Last Friday, the management described the allegations as tissues of lies. They said those heating up the system were not workers, but a handful of trouble makers hiding under unionism.

    Supporting his claims with documentary evidence, Popoola said it was corruption that was fighting back in the system. He challenged workers to come up with evidence of any shady deals he was involved.

    UNIOSUN Administrative block, Osogbo Campus
    UNIOSUN Administrative block, Osogbo Campus

    Defending his honour, he said: “Allegations remain allegations and the important thing for me to say is that some of the things that are published by the media are untrue.

    “Truth is, at UNIOSUN, we have a group of people, very few, but with entrenched interest. They are not even up to 20, yet they operate under the guise of unionism. They were in charge of administration before I came and they also wanted to control this administration here, but I think I am beyond that.

    “I have never been corrupt. I fight corruption, so we have a situation where corruption is fighting back.

    “By principle, I have never taken or given a bribe and I have suffered for it. No contractor comes to me for kickbacks because they know I won’t take it.”

    Popoola also contested the figures he said workers claimed he inherited upon resumption of office.

    “I didn’t inherit N3 billion (when I resumed). What I had in the papers handed to me was N1.8 billion, including money for TETFund (Tertiary Education Trust Fund), Needs Assessment, and grants owned by some researchers in this university. You can’t even touch them because they don’t even belong to the university. So, the university was bankrupt when I took over. We later found that there were debts owed up to N1 billion and the Council is aware of it. So, if some people under the guise of unionism will raise such allegations because they have issues with the VC, then something must be wrong somewhere,” he said.

    He said despite the state owing salaries because of financial crisis, the institution’s finances had improved since he came, saying workers were paid as and when due. This, Popoola explained, was achieved by blocking loopholes and prudent management of resources.

    “We have made money, close to N2 billion, through blocking of leakages. Overall, we have managed what we have prudently. No university pays salaries ahead of us. At present, we barely receive 25 per cent of our salary bill from the government, yet for the 18 months that I have been here, we pay salary by 25th of every month and it is full and not modulated.

    “When I came here, we had a retainership with one of the networks where we were paying about N9 million. But I thought that was pretty high and I invited them here and we renegotiated; it came down to N6 million. So in a year, we are saving about N12 million. Second, to conduct exam used to cost the university between N10 and N12 million per semester; but I scrutinised things with my principal officers. Now we spend about N5 million. Interestingly, this last Harmattan semester exam, we spent much less. Third, I was handed a bill of N158 million for the accreditation of 19 programmes. I called all heads of departments to work together with us on this. We ended up spending N54 million and all the programmes were accredited,” the VC said.

    Popoola said some of the union leaders who had problems with the institution were using unionism to evade justice.

    “The rules are very clear. Unfortunately, someone like me will not sweep infractions under the carpet. For instance, we have about 24 workers who collected TETFund grants about three years ago and pocketed it. The rule is, you cannot keep TETFund money with you. If it is not used for its purpose, you return it.  So, when TETFund wrote to us to account for it, what do you expect me to do as the chief executive of this place?”

    But JAC, in its response, said Popoola was being economical with the truth.

    “How can the VC say only a few members are making trouble in the system. Unions’ agitations are usually collective and whatever advantage derived therefrom is for the benefit of the entire workforce, the system, and even the students,” said the Chairman of JAC, Comrade Lekan Idiat.

    Idiat said Popoola was biased against the non-academic unions.

    “We have over 300 of our members across the three unions, but the VC is using divide-and-rule tactics against us. Last year, ASUU went on strike for six months and nothing happened, so why is our matter raising so much eyebrows?

    “Let him provide documentary evidence against our members that he said are cutting corners in the system. As a union, we do not condone indiscipline. In fact, we supported the sack of some of our members that committed certain infractions sometime ago.

    “If the VC said he was able to reduce huge amount the university used to spend on examination, and also that of accreditation, that should not be our business. As non-teaching staff, we do not have access to that money, it is the professors that collect examination fees, so he should not lump us into that,” he said.

    Idiat said the allegations that their members collected TETFund money and spent it was not true.

    “What happened was that at the point some of our members applied for this funds, naira was N250 to a dollar. Unfortunately, by the time the money was released the equivalent of naira to a dollar was about N500. Many of our members were then confronted with the rising cost of things which made unrealisable what the fund was meant for.

    “But, at present, I can categorically tell you that, almost, if not all workers that took that fund, have refunded because the VC sent out a memo that the fund should be retired within 24 hours.”

    He said what workers wanted from the management is to see them as partners in progress and not enemies in the development of the university.

    JAC Secretary Dada Kunmi said the workers were behind their leaders, who were purportedly suspended by the management.

    He said the management disregarded the order by the National Industrial Court in Ibadan, stopping them from constituting the Staff Disciplinary Committee.

    He also accused Popoola of removing all the union members on committee, witch-hunting, and harassing the workers for exposing his alleged financial recklessness and maladministration.

    But, contrarily, a lecturer, who did not wish to be named, claimed the crisis was a personal vendetta, arguing that the allegations levelled against the VC were false.

    “All the crisis seen today in UNIOSUN is nothing but a personal vendetta and a witch-hunt against the vice chancellor.

    “To the best of my knowledge, ever since the VC came around, he has been doing all he could to position the school among the best.

    “He wants to generate more income to the university while trying to cut costs. This has put him in the black book of many.

    “He is a human; no doubt, he might have erred but not on the allegations levelled against him that I am in the know of. The projects for which he is being questioned were not approved during his tenure.

    During an interactive session with the Parents Forum last week, Mallam Ali said but for the intervention of security agencies, the striking workers would have disrupted the last accreditation between last November and December, and the Harmattan Semester examination which started on March 13.

    He said a suggestion that the unions should allow low-level workers to operate skeletal services during the strike was rejected.

    “The strike enforcement team of JAC moved around with whips, cudgels and dangerous objects to scare off and drive out willing regular staff, support staff and NYSC members. The unions moved around generator houses to ensure that support staff could not work. In some instances, they went away with the key to the storage tanks for diesel to ensure that diesel was not available to power the generating sets. Cases in point were Osogbo and Ejigbo campuses where the generators were shut during examinations and an organised debate session and the keys taken away.”

    Some parents have called for an end to the crisis.

    Alhaja Basirat Owolabi appealed to the institution management and the aggrieved staff members to allow peace to reign so that the crisis would not affect the academic pursuit of their wards.

    “The aggrieved parties should not forget that when two elephants clash, the grass suffers. Every one of them should bury whatever they have against each other.

    “They should pay particular attention to developments in the school. They are scholars and what we expect of them is an attitude that truly portrays who they are,” she said.

    On his part, Mr Taiwo Fasoranti, a civil servant, described the crisis as shameful and unnecessary.

    “My son whose mates have left school for service is still in school due to the inconsequential issues. It is either today ASUU or tomorrow SANNU. They have not portrayed the school in a good light.

    “And considering the amount we pay, this is the least any parent would accept. The visitor to the institution and the governing council must as a matter of urgency wade into this crisis before it brings down the university,” he said.

  • UNIOSUN VC explains fee hike

    UNIOSUN VC explains fee hike

    The Vice Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof. Labo Popoola, has defended the institution’s hike in tuition fees.

    He said it became necessary to salvage the university from collapse.

    Addressing reporters at Osogbo main campus, Popoola, who sought support of the media to enlighten the public on the matter, said the upward review affected fresh students while old students will pay the old fees.

    According to him, stakeholders, including parents and students, were aware about the plan to increase fees.

    Popoola said the Governing Council approved the fee regime to ensure that the institution meet its obligations to students, teachers and other stakeholders.

    He said: “In arriving at the revised fees, all sectors of the university community as well as stakeholders like the alumni association, students, workers’ unions and parents’ forum, were carried along throughout the process.

    “This review is based on need and necessitated by the financial challenges being experienced by the university and the need to take an urgent step, such as this, to save the university from imminent shutdown.”

     

     

  • I had a fair share of girls as DJ on campus -UNIOSUN VC

    I had a fair share of girls as DJ on campus -UNIOSUN VC

    He was a popular Disk Jockey on campus back in the early 1980s. Young Olabode Popoola was there at various campus events, dishing out music at social functions. According to him, “I had great fun. I loved music and I had a fair share of girls too.” But it was not all play. He diligently combined play with academic work and left the University Of Ibadan with good grades. He became a Professor at 30 and is now the Vice Chancellor of Osun State University. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO and JUMOKE OWOOLA, he speaks about the lifestyle that took him to the top of the ivory tower.

    Tell us about your journey to the office of the Vice Chancellor of Osun State University.

    I started out as a graduate assistant at the University of Ibadan. I completed my Ph.D at the age of 30. I took up an appointment at the same university and that was where I was until I came here in November last year. I rose to become a professor within 10 years of starting my academic career. I have been a professor now for about 15 years. I have had the privilege of holding every academic position you can imagine in the university system. I have been a graduate coordinator, a post graduate coordinator in a department, Sub-Dean in a department, Sub-Dean at the Faculty level, Sub-Dean at the Post graduate school level, head of department, Dean of the Post Graduate School, and I have been director of an International Centre. Now I am here as the Vice Chancellor of this university.

    What made you to merit the position of VC?

    The criteria for becoming a Vice Chancellor is quite well known. In the case of this institution, the advertisement was very clear. You must be a professor of 10 years standing. You must be a reputable professor who is known globally. You must be a professor who has won grants, a notable researcher and an academician who has held administrative positions. I guess they found me to merit this, as there was an application process, a shortlisting process, a thorough interview process, and I came first out of 13 people. So that was how I found myself here.

    You had worked in a federal university and now you are in a state-owned university. Can you compare both in contemporary Nigeria?

    I am happy the way you put the question, especially the mention of contemporary Nigeria. That implies the notion of people about what universities are and what the universities themselves think of themselves. That also implies what have the universities, whether federal, state, private or public, have to offer. My notion for years now is that I do not draw a line between them all. And I also do not draw a line between a federal, state and a foreign university. A university should be a university. That is the origin of the word itself. It means universality.

    A university is what you make of it: the caliber of people working there, the leadership, the quality of research being conducted and the image of the institution. So, you have state universities which have better image than federal universities. And that is why in ranking now, Covenant University, which is a private university, is ahead of several federal universities. So it depends on what you make out of the university. But perhaps in terms of comfort, state universities are closer to the people, from my experience. And they interface in the way things are managed. That is not so likely in federal universities because the Visitor is hundreds of kilometres away. So also, the Minister of Education is hundreds of kilometres away.

    But in the case of state universities, everyone is living in the same village so to say. However, I want to say that this university is exceptional in the sense that there is very little interface between this university and the government in the running of this campus.

    Yours is an off-campus system. How are you managing that?

    Well, the founding parents of this university had their reasons for making it a multi-campus institution. The objective, the way I understand it, is that the university should be close to the people. That is why we have six campuses in the six geo-political zones of the state, bringing education close to the people. In other words, bringing civilization close to each zone, because university is about civilization. It is about modernity. So the objective is very good. Maybe the challenge is about how to manage such multiple campuses. That is where the challenge really is. You find out that commuting between them all could be very challenging economically. Of course, in terms of man hour, so much time is spent commuting. There is also the issue of coordinating, which is not easy to do. It is very promising. The objectives are good. But managing it is a different issue entirely.

    Do you have issues with that?

    A lot of issues! Each of the campuses is like a university, and one person is superintending six campuses. Whether you like it or not, you have to have different characters in the different campuses. How do you put them all together to ensure that it makes sense? This is the context where it is challenging. So what I have tried to do is to create a directorate which is responsible for coordinating those campuses and also liaising with the public. We call it Directorate of Inter Campus and Public Affairs. There is a Director designate, so not everything comes directly to the VC.

    What about funding for a state university like yours? Is it a challenge?

    There is a very heavy challenge. A university of any kind is not a tea party. It is serious business. We always make the mistake of thinking that the university is just a place for admitting students, teaching and awarding degrees. Universities are supposed to be places where characters are moulded, where serious research that will impact society is conducted. It is supposed to be where public policy is formed. But in a situation where the resources barely pay salaries, it means that you have left out about 2/3 of other activities undone.

    But that is the situation in some universities right now; not just the state-owned universities. We just manage to pay salaries. And at the end of it, we cannot talk of ground breaking research. The table that we have here is an imported table. It is research that has made it possible to get such quality and product. About 20 years ago, you couldn’t conduct interviews with midgets and electronic gadgets. You probably had to write it down. So, that is what research does. And many of such researches are done in the universities. So it is quite challenging managing a state-owned university. You are only able to do a fraction of what you are supposed to be doing. Gradually though, when you have good leadership, it makes all the difference. What I am telling my colleagues here is that we have to write grant-winning proposals. If we can work out something that can bring in $100m grant, we would be in good business.

    As a child did you have dreams that one day you would seat at the top of an ivory tower like this?

    Maybe. Right from my primary school, the only thing I had hoped to be was a professor. So, that also helped me because I never stopped school for a day except when I went for national service. But not all professors can be vice chancellors, hence I don’t think I thought about being a vice chancellor. But I have always wanted to be a professor.

    Where did you grow up?

    I grew up in Inisan, a small town in Osun State. In those days in the 60s, every primary school in the South West was the same. No school was different from the other. You could have some of the best schools in a village. But in my case, after primary school, I left for Ibadan for secondary school, and after that, I attended the University of Ibadan.

    Who influenced your educational direction most between mum and dad?

    I really don’t know. All I remember is that I was usually top of the class. Many of my classmates are today not surprised that I ended up being a teacher in the university. I had parents who wanted me to go to school. Although I don’t know where that came from, I know that I didn’t want to do any other thing but to teach. Even after school when I had colleagues looking for jobs, I never thought about it. After the national youth service, I taught briefly at a College of Agriculture, but it wasn’t because I wanted the job. I was just waiting for my admission letter to come. I just wanted to keep going to school. I thank God, maybe it has paid off.

    What childhood memories would you readily recall?

    I recall the kind of love that pervaded the environment then. Today, I see some of my friends with whom I grew up. Then, nobody asked what your religion was. We ate from the same pot. We played around. At Christmas time, it was everybody celebrating, and at Sallah time, it was everybody celebrating. So when I compare it with the kind of suspicion that has been played up today, I am baffled. Today, even among those with whom I grew up, there is suspicion, which was not there before. Then, there was no class segregation. I come from Inisan but got admission into a secondary school in Ibadan. I didn’t have to know anybody. I sat for an exam and passed. Those are the things that I remember, and they make me sad. And I ask myself, how did we get it wrong? But I had fun as a child. Then as an undergraduate, I had great fun. I was a disc jockey. I played very hard.

    How did you combine being a disc jockey with studies?

    Well, you can combine anything together once you have a focus. I enjoyed attending parties and later became a disc jockey. I used to sing, but I also had discipline. I never drank or smoked.

    But the girls on campus love hovering around such guys…

    (Laughs) Oh yes, I had a fair share of that. That was part of campus life. But it didn’t disturb studies because it was about planning. One aspect shouldn’t disturb the other. I didn’t go out with the girls 24 hours. I planned my time. I had fun.

    Again, I wonder how these things happen. In secondary school, I was the best all round student in arts, in science and in sports. I have a certificate in Karate but I never for once imagined I would be a medical doctor. The only course I wanted to do was Agriculture. That was my first choice, and we were the first set of JAMB students even though I went on to do A-levels for whatever reasons. I studied Agriculture and specialised in Forest Resources Management.

    How do you see the future of this university?

    This university is 10 years old. The first five years of this university was quite stable, everything was working well. There was a mass of academia coming from different universities together. Everybody wanted to work. But in the last five years, it has been critical for the university. You have been reading the newspapers. It has been one bad news after the other. But then the prospects are still there. I am here trying to redirect, trying to rebuild the communities, the team spirit and the can-do spirit. So I am very hopeful that this university will be able to live up to the dream of the founding fathers. That is because the resources are there.

    One other thing you should also know is that in this business, we trail each other. When someone is somewhere and people know that they can work with him or her, they trail the person to the place. So, in the last few months that I have been here, amazingly, a number of people have come to relate with us either on visiting appointment or just wanting to work with us. I can name more than 12 world class professors who have come to work with us or relating with us to ensure that the university is working the way it should. So I believe the prospects are still there.

    Do you still love music?

    Yes, I still do.

    What kind of music do you listen to these days?

    All kinds of music including local music like sakara and apala. Of course, I am a fan of King Sunny Ade. I love his brand of Juju music. I love soul music. Afro music, Funk, and Jazz send me to sleep, though we do not have it as much any longer. I recall Glover Washington and the other Jazz masters.

    What kind of social life do you keep these days?

    I have attended a lot of parties to last me a lifestyle. Some people may think I’m anti-social, but then I ask, what is there that I haven’t seen?

    How did you meet your wife?

    We met at the University of Ibadan. We started out as friends and kept at it. There were other girls, but I was with her more than with other girls. She became a friend that I did too many things with unconsciously. And then I started realising that God must have designed it that way. So we became parents and then grandparents, because we now have a grandchild.

    Is she in the academia too?

    Oh yes, she found herself there (laughs). She is an associate professor. Actually, I don’t know whether it is right or wrong. The truth is that I would love it most that my children are also in the education business or sector of the economy.

    So, are they taking after you?

    I guess so. My first child is doing her Ph. D now. She did her master’s degree abroad. I don’t think she is going to do any other thing than lecturing. The second one is in the UK. He got a job after his master’s degree, but I know that he is thinking of a Ph. D. The others are also thinking along the same line. Maybe they like the fact that daddy is not a rich man but he enjoys what he is doing. It could also be natural.

    Where I hail from, they say Owu iya gbon ni omo ran. In other words, it is what the mother dropped that the child picks up and continues with. So if you are living in an environment where when people talk about money you talk about book, everywhere around you are books, then you cannot but be focused on books. But also in all manner of modesty, I must confess that the academia has brought me unimaginable fame and good reputation. We go somewhere and people say, ‘Oh, that’s your dad!’ Perhaps that has also encouraged them to want to be in the academia.

    What other hobbies have you kept over the years?

    I did long distance running. I was a high jumper and I did play good soccer. As a matter of fact, if soccer was as lucrative then as it is now, maybe, it would have diverted my attention. That is because I played soccer at all the school levels. I was in the university football team as well. And in those days of IICC, I was training with some of the clubs. But after a while, I didn’t have time to do all that. These days, I do my normal exercise. I walk around. I still play soccer, but on a very light note.

    Like you mentioned earlier, it has been one crisis after another. What is the situation in the recent face-off between the police and the students of your university?

    That was an unfortunate incident. But that could have happened at other places. But thank God that the students survived. Crisis in different ways has been happening, but it’s just that it took a frightening dimension. One of the problems we have here is that we are non-residential. So the students live outside without protection. No policeman would have walked into the campus to shoot students while they were playing soccer. But we thank God that we were able to mobilise quickly and God assisted. The boys are living their normal lives again. And gladly also, the leadership of the police took immediate steps and I hear that the errant policemen are being prosecuted.

  • Who becomes UNIOSUN VC?

    Who becomes UNIOSUN VC?

    Twenty months after its pioneer  Vice Chancellor, Prof Sola Akinrinade, left office, the Osun State University (UNIOSUN) has begun a search for its successor. The process is not without controversy, reports SOJI ADENIYI from Osogbo.

    The race has begun for the Vice Chancellorship (VC) of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN), which became vacant on July 31, last year. The Governing Council (GC) has begun a search for the right candidate, but some of the applicants are accusing it of bias.

    The delay in filling the post which became vacant following the completion of Prof Sola Akinrinade’s five-year tenure as pioneer VC is being blamed on the long time it took to reconstitute the council. The council’s tenure expired in 2011, but a new council was constituted in November, last year.

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola inaugurated the second council, with Prof Olawoyin Adesiyan as chairman.

    The external members are Group Managing Director of IGI, Mr. Remi Olowude; Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Adeyinka Omigbodun; Professor of Agricultural Engineering, Obafemi Ajibola; Professor of Electrical/Electronics, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Dr Abeke Omotosho from the Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan (UI); Gabriel Adegboyega; Chief Executive Officer, Chams, Sir Demola Aladekomo.

    Internal members are Acting Vice Chancellor of UNIOSUN, Prof Gani Olatunde; Provost of Health Sciences, Prof Christopher Alebiosu; Prof. Kizito Abayomi, Prof. Olukoya Ogen, Mr. Abiodun Adesoji and Dr. Idowu Akintayo.

    The first assignment was to select a new VC and the process has attracted complaints from stakeholders, including the Justice and Integrity Forum (JIF) and the Concerned Professionals (CP), among others.

    On Tuesday, a source told The Nation that another group went to court to challenge the constitution of the Governing Council, which is said to lack representatives from the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the alumni association. The group is also challenging the vice-chancellorship selection process.

    At the beginning of the race, 15 professors applied for the exalted position. They are: Prof Labode Popoola, Professor Fatai Akintunde Balogun, Prof Mojeed Alabi, Prof Julius Kola Oloke, Prof Bashiru Adekunle Okesina, Prof Duro Ajeyalemi, Prof Joshua Obaleye, Prof Oladiran Famurewa, Prof Siyan Oyeweso, Prof Bayonle Olorede, Prof Adesoji Julius Adeyinka, Prof Ayo Agbonjinmi, Prof Olu Odeyemi, Prof Clement Adebooye, and Prof Dayo Andrew Akinmoladun.

    The council pruned the number to seven, four of whom were said to be over-aged. They are: Famurewa, who was born in 1950, Obaleye (1958), Oloke (1959), Odeyemi (1946), Agbonjimi (1950), Ajeyalemi (1950), and Okesina (1954).

    Critics said those above 60 would have clocked the retirement age of 65 before the expiration of their tenure. They argued that though the the Federal Government has adopted 70 years as retirement age for professors, the Osun State government has yet to adopt the new retirement age.

    The eighth shortlisted candidate Prof Funmi Togonu-Bickersteth (16-4-1949), was one of the three recommended by a search committee after stakeholders faulted the initial shortlist. The search committee headed by Prof. Adegboyega, had recommended Prof Togonu-Bickersteth, former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, (Academic) of OAU and two others, Prof. Adigun Bolarinwa Agbaje, former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, (Academic) University of Ibadan and Prof Abel Idowu Olayinka, current Deputy Vice-Chancellor, (UI). A source said of the three only Prof Togonu-Bickersteth was present at a two-day interview conducted on Monday and Tuesday at the university.

    “It was only Prof Togonu-Bickersteth that was present at today’s (Tuesday) interview with the others initially shortlisted. The other two ‘searched’ candidates were said to have declined,” the source said.

    The interview was held in defiance of the directive of Osun State House of Speaker Najeem Salaam, that the appointment process be put on hold, pending amendment of the university law.

    The Speaker’s directive may not be unconnected with a letter he received from the Justice and Integrity Forum, which picked holes in the selection process and the university laws. In the letter, the group noted that, despite the law stipulating 60 years as the maximum age of candidates vying for the post, one of them is retired and on contract with a first generation university. It said among the three ‘searched’candidates by the council, two are above 60.

    They alleged that the inclusion of the over-aged professors was deliberate and aimed at filling the shortlisted list to pave the way for an anointed candidate when some are eventually knocked out by the criteria.

    Part of the letter reads: “Against the above backdrop, we wish to register our objection to the short-listing of four out of the seven shortlisted applicants for the post of Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University by the Prof Gabriel Adesiyan-led Governing Council. Our premise is that the four shortlisted applicants have exceeded the statutory age for shortlisting, interview and appointment for Vice-Chancellorship’s position under Osun State University Law (2006). In fact, stakeholders of the Nigerian university system are aware of the golden clause that ‘Candidates who would have attained the age of 60 years at the assumption of duty need not apply’. This is given the fact that a Vice-Chancellor is entitled to a single term of five-years only. The Council cannot issue a letter of appointment on a five year tenure basis for a successful applicant who is already 62 or 64 and who must statutorily retire at the age of 65.”

    The group also claimed that some of the initial 15 candidates were dropped because they do not have enough post-professorial experience, which is a requirement for candidates contesting for the position. It argued that it was not so when Prof Akinrinade was appointed in 2007 with only seven years post-professorial experience.

    The group said: “At the time of advertisement for the post of Vice-Chancellor in January 2007 and his subsequent appointment in March 2007, Osun State University Law 2006 was already in place. The 10 years post-professorial experience as an eligibility criterion for appointment was also part of the 2006 law. In spite of the existence of Osun State University Law (2006) and the 10-year post professorial clause, Prof Sola Akinrinade was appointed the pioneer Vice-Chancellor. He had seven years post-professorial experience at the time.”

    Some of the candidates also protested their exclusion from the shortlist, petitioning the Council. While the Council upheld the petition of Prof Okesina, who was subsequently invited for the interview, the petitions of two other candidates, Prof Labode Popoola and Prof Dayo Andrew Akinmoladun, were not considered.

    Following claims that the petitioners did not have up to 10 years post-professorial experience, Prof Popoola protested and was quoted as saying:

    “I was promoted a professor at the University of Ibadan on October 1, 2002. Consequently, I was 10 years as Professor by October, 2012 and already over 10 years as a Professor as at the date of opening of applications for the advertised position of the Vice-Chancellorship of Osun State University, and I will be well over 10 years as Professor by the time the Visitor appoints a new substantive Vice-Chancellor upon the recommendation of the Council as enshrined in the extant laws of the university.

    “The Council of any university is cumulatively required under the law to represent the face of the university and, thus, custodians of society’s salutary values, which obviously include fair hearing and redressing of cases involving “error of judgement” in respect of the consideration of my application and candidature for shortlisting in the ongoing process of selecting the new Vice-Chancellor for UNIOSUN.

    My exclusion from the ongoing process requires reconsideration in the interest of fairness and justice. May I further state that the exclusion would set a bad precedent which may, in years to come, work against the interest of the university itself.”

    Reacting, Prof. Adesiyan said he had his name to protect, adding that he would follow due process as stipulated by law. He said at the inauguration of the Council, Aregbesola asked members to do the assignment without fear or favour. He said there had been pressure on him by some candidates but vowed never to mortgage his integrity.

    “The governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, who inaugurated the Council, gave us a mandate and we are not to work outside it. We won’t bend the law to accommodate anybody. If you are one month short of 10 years as a professor, you won’t be shortlisted. We are going to do what is right and just,” he said.

    The Deputy Governor, Mrs Titilope Olaoye-Tomori, was said to be at a meeting when The Nation tried to reach her. The Director-General, Osun State Bureau of Communication, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, said the government had “no special candidate” for the position.

    He said: “The interest of the government is to ensure a viable institution where quality will be a watchword in term of the products produced. Government has no particular candidate for the position of the Vice-Chancellor. The government is interested in the best candidate that will make the insitution to realise its mission and vision to be among the top institutions of the day. There are many qualified candidates and each group will be pushing for its own interest and agenda.”