Naijagossiper

The Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University , Ojo , Prof . Olanrewaju Fagbohun , has refuted allegations that the recent dismissal of 17 academic and non -academic staff by the Governing Council of the institution did not follow due process .
The vice chancellor , at a press conference held on Monday , described claims that the Council ’s decision was manipulated for political reasons , in relation to two of the affected lecturers , Dr . Isaac Oyewunmi and Dr. Adebowale Adeyemi - Suenu , as untrue .
Fagbohun , who arrived at the venue of the event in company with other members of the Council , said the university acted strictly in conformity with its rules and regulations in the matter involving both lecturers .
Giving a detailed account of the circumstances that led to the dismissal of the lecturers , the VC said he wrote a letter to Dr . Oyewunmi, asking him to comment on a petition accusing him of demanding money to process the results of students under his supervision .
He said , “I wrote to Oyewunmi to comment on the petition and he denied the allegations contained in it. I wrote to the three members of staff who were mentioned in the petition and they all responded that Oyewunmi, indeed , demanded the money in question to process the results of the students .
“It was premised on this that a five -man fact-finding panel, headed by Prof . Michael Ikhariale , was set up. In its report dated January 16 , 2017 , the panel recommended that Oyewunmi had a case to answer. It is instructive to note that the panel called the petitioner and four other witnesses . Dr, Oyewunmi also appeared before it.”
Based on the panel’s report , Fagbohun added , a formal query was then issued to Oyewunmi by the Academic Staff Establishment and the case was referred to the institution ’s Joint Council / Senate ( Academic) Disciplinary Committee .
“The committee held three meetings in the course of which it interacted with the petitioner and 13 other witnesses . The petitioner and three of the witnesses were in the class of seven . He was the Class Representative .
“A key fact, as found by the committee , was that in their testimonies , the petitioner and three of the witnesses , all of the 2003 Modular year set of the Political Education programme , asserted that there was a demand for the sum of N 50 ,000 by Dr . Isaac Oyewunmi ( their subject coordinator ) to process their results ,” he said .
The vice chancellor noted that a statement made by Oyewunmi during a recorded conversation with another lecturer , simply identified as Dr. Abanikanda , corroborated the allegation that he demanded money from the students . “This was the basis for his dismissal ,” he said .
On the other hand , Dr. Adeyemi -Suenu , Fagbohun continued , was dismissed for his alleged part in the alteration of marks , following information that some withdrawn students of the Department of History and International Studies had returned to the university through the assistance of some members of staff .
“I directed the University Integrated Data Centre to carry out a forensic audit of changes made during the 2015 / 2016 academic session . The forensic evidence linked the PF number and password of Dr . Adeyemi -Suenu to the alterations . Then I directed the Dean of the Faculty to investigate same .
“The Faculty of Arts set up a five -man fact- finding panel on the matter . There was a majority report signed by four members of the panel. The position of the report is that Adeyemi -Suenu had a case to answer. As a result of this , a query was issued to him by the Academic Staff Establishment to explain his involvement in the allegation . When he denied the allegations in his response , the case was also referred to the Joint Council / Senate ( Academic) Disciplinary Committee , ” he said .
He said that after the committee interacted with about 23 witnesses and Adeyemi - Suenu on the matter and found him culpable , he was dismissed for misconduct , in accordance with the provisions of the Conditions of Service Guiding Senior Staff of the Lagos State University 2008 .
In his reaction to the Council ’s decision, the General Secretary of the LASU chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities , Dr. Anthony Dansu , reportedly described Oyewunmi’s dismissal as unjust and an attempt to cripple the union .
Dansu was quoted as saying , “They ( management ) are not victimising Oyewunmi or Adeyemi - Suenu , but ASUU . ”
But Fagbohun , at the press conference, said that ASUU had nothing to do with the dismissal , insisting that nobody should drag the union into the matter . “I want everybody to recognise that all of the directors here , who are also members of ASUU , cannot conspire against the union ,” he said . ""