UI VCship: Process Begins by Senate Ahead Of Council Decision

 The appointment of the next Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan has continued to deepen as the Senate has allegedly taken over the responsibilities of the Governing Council.

AIBNETWORK  recalls that following the various petitions against the credibility of the selection process and protest from workers of the institution, the selection process was halted.

This newspaper gathered that in a letter from the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu to the Chairman of the Governing Council, copied to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Idowu Olayinka, the council was mandated to start the selection process all over again.

The letter from the minister also ordered the council to conduct a new election for Senate representatives of the Joint selection committee and re-invite all 18 VC aspirants.

The Minister also ordered the Vice-Chancellor, Olayinka to recuse himself from the entire process after multiple stakeholders alleged that he is working for the imposition of the deputy, Prof. Kayode Adebowale.

A meeting chaired by Prof Ekanola, as acting VC,  Tuesday ordered that a new election should be conducted for senate representatives within the next 24 hours.

This, AIBNETWORK understands, is against due process as the VC does not have the mandate to chair a Senate meeting to carry out responsibilities delegated to the Governing Council.

Explaining what might have prompted this, a highly placed source said the VC commanded that the Senate should meet ahead of the Council yesterday, to discuss the letter and quickly organise the election of Senate Representatives when Council members have not even been properly informed”.

Selection Board Aspirants Step Down

A Notice of Meeting for Wednesday election sent to aspirants on Tuesday morning read,”There will be a Special Meeting of Senate on Wednesday, 25 November, 2020 at 3.00 p.m. in the Trenchard Hall. The meeting is convened to announce the result of the election of Senate Representatives on the Joint Council/Senate Selection Board for the appointment of Vice Chancellor, scheduled for same day.

“Kindly note that manual voting will start at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m., after which the Special Meeting will commence.”

On the traiI of this, AIBNETWORK  gathered that no fewer than 5 individuals who participated in the first Senate Representative election have withdrawn from the new selection committe election slated for today by the Olayinka-led Senate.

These individuals in various statements alleged that the new process is inappropriate noting that the Senate does not have the mandate to conduct the fresh election because it is an attempt to take over the assignment delegated to the Governing Council by the education Ministry.

“I am officially withdrawing my candidature from the election of tomorrow. I noticed that the fundamental issues are yet to be addressed and the rush to have an election within a few hours of taking the decision is to me tantamount to fraud.

“Consequent upon this, I am requesting that my name should not appear on the ballot paper, and I will not hesitate to view inclusion of my name on the ballot paper as an infringement on my fundamental rights,”Professor AA Fasanmade of the Department of Physiology wrote in a letter to the Deputy Registrar.

In his own letter, Professor Victor O. Adetimirin of the Department of Crop and Horticultural Sciences wrote,”I read your text of 5.08 pm in respect of the fresh manual election of Senate representative on the Joint Council/Senate selection Board for the Appointment of Vice-Chancellor, requesting for my tellers at the election to be held tomorrow, Wednesday 25 November, 2020- less than 24 hours away.

“Given the very short notice, I write to formally withdraw as a candidate in the election. I will not be available to participate in the election. Kindly remove my name from the list of the candidates. Consequently, there is no need for me to have tellers at the election.”

For Professor Soji Aremu, the new Senate representative election “was not only a surprise, it came as a shock requesting me for the names for an election I’m not aware of.”

Explaining why, he wrote: “One, I wasn’t at Senate Meeting so I’m not privy to any decisions so taken. And there isn’t any release to that effect even till now. Besides, why the haste? Two, asking me to submit two names impliedly mean I consent to an election in less than 24 hours which is not democratic.

“Three, the request did not factor my emotional wellness and physical availability for such a huge task.”

Similarly, in a two page response, Professor Dasylva, who was one of those who petitioned the first process, withdrew his participation for various inappropriacy.

Meanwhile, out of 9 contestants who participated in the first election, only three have indicated interest to participate in the election slated for this morning.

They are Prof. Peter Olapegba, and Prof Ezekiel Ayoola. Prof Ope Ajewole has just stepped down.

Recall that the main contention with the election that took place on September 21 was that the duo of Ayoola and Olapegba are allegedly agents of the Vice Chancellor, working for the emergence of his candidate.

While Prof. Ayoola in a series of messages was reported to have thrown his weight behind one of the VC aspirants.

Workers Unions Meet

Meanwhile the Non Academic and Senior Staff Unions in the institution are set to meet this morning to discuss the various issues surrounding their current strike.