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.”
