UNILAG VC Crisi: Ogundipe, Omotosho Fail to Resume

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Contrary to speculations that the new acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos ((UNILAG), Akoka, Prof Omololu Soyombo, who had said that he would assume office on Monday for his appointment to take immediate effect, was not on a seat at the senate building where the office of the VC is domiciled.

Similarly, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, who said his purported sack as the vice-chancellor of the university by the institution’s governing council last Wednesday should be disregarded as he is still in charge of the affairs of the university, was also not on seat.

Tribune reports that while Professor Ogundipe was reportedly in Abuja, Professor Soyombo was said to be having a meeting with some officers of the university in his office at the Faculty of Social Sciences.

One Mr Odetola Phillips, who claimed to be the Personal Assistant to Professor Soyombo, told journalists at the faculty reception that his principal was having a meeting that would take long hours and therefore wouldn’t be able to talk to any journalist for the day.

“You can come back on Wednesday or he would let you know when he would be available for interview,” Mr Phillips said of his principal. “And he would also tell you where the interview will take place.”

However, our correspondent observed that even though many uniformed policemen with three pickup vans were stationed at the main gate with some plain clothe detectives also on ground inside the campus apparently to prevent the foreseeable breakdown of law and order, people were moving freely in and out of the campus without any harassment.

The Street reporters Newspaper gathered that at the senate building, only a few officers were seen and the senate members who had resolved at their emergency meeting last Thursday to be resuming at the Senate foyer daily, for now, were not also around.

The chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) UNILAG branch, Dr Dele Ashiru, told journalists at the ASUU secretariat that the lecturers and the other staff unions including the senate of the institution still maintained their earlier joint position that Professor Ogundipe is still the vice-chancellor of UNILAG and that his office is not vacant.

He insisted that due diligence must be followed to sack even junior officer of the university let alone the vice-chancellor.

According to him, nobody is against probing of any officer nor his or her removal if found of wrongdoing in the line of duties, but there are procedures for such and not that somebody will just wake up one day just as Babalakin did and take law into his own hands.

“UNILAG is more than that,” he stressed.

Dr Ashiru, who teaches political science, however, called on the Minister of Education, Mr Adamu Adamu, to come out with government position on the matter without further delay.

“It is necessary for the government to act now so as to put an end to the imbroglio,” he said.

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