FUNAAB Governing Council sets trap for whistleblowers, 20 others

…AS SSANU rejects conditions for recall

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By Femi SHODUNKE 

NIGEIRIA: THE crisis at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) in Ogun State is yet from being over going by alleged plan of the Governing Council to deal with the three whistleblowers and other workers who participated in exposing the fraud in the university.

Similarly, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has rejected the conditions placed before its members to return to their jobs.

GatewayMail reliably gathered that the Council was particularly peeved by the action of the whistleblowers in reporting its former Chairman, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which led to his hurried resignation and prosecution in court, alongside the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole, and former Bursar, Moses Ilesanmi, for corruption charges on misappropriation of over N800 million,.

Apparently still insisting on taking its pound of flesh, GatewayMail gathered that the council deliberately planned to allow the sacked workers play into its hands by asking them to write letter of appeal and subsequently try them before its committee.

“They have vowed to deal with the workers, particularly the whistleblowers, who exposed their ex-Chairman Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, leading to his inglorious exit,” the source said.

The source added: “It was a deliberate ploy to set up the Council Committee.  Tell me, what is the meaning of that?  Can the council that has no moral ground again be in a position to constitute its own committee to try the workers?

“Definitely, you will agree with me that the committee was a ploy to get back at the workers only to come back to recommend them for series of punishments which may include severe reprimands that would affect their future promotions, demotion, or even outright sack of few of them.”

“Mark my words now, and wait in few months to see what will happen in the university,” the source further said, adding: “That is why the Council insisted that the Vice-Chancellor should remain in office and the Vice-Chancellor also has approved his lackey as the acting Registrar and Secretary of Council.”

The source further said: “Let me tell you that some contents of the communique were not part of what were totally agreed upon in Abuja.  Some aspects were injected by the management in order to get at the workers, particularly members of SSANU.”

When contacted, the acting Chairman of the Governing Council, Chief Olukayode Akindele declined to comments, but the Chairman of SSANU, Comrade Rotimi Fasuwon, declared that the union would not fall into the trap set by the university, just as he rejected the conditions for the sacked workers to return to work.

The Head, Directorate of Public Relations, Mrs. Emi’ Alawode, also refused to comments on the development.

Fasuwon told GatewayMail in an interview: “We are understudying the said communique and looking at the steps and they are not in tandem with what they should be.  However, I’m waiting for the National President, I mean of SSANU, to give directive.

“He is aware and we’re waiting for him to make his findings in Abuja because he will discuss with me on what to do.  We are seeing some steps that will not lead to the peace government is expecting.”

The SSANU chairman stressed: “The President is in Abuja right now to find out the genuineness of some contents of the communique.  Indeed, we are not satisfied asking us to withdraw from court; asking us to face the panel, we are not satisfied; asking the Vice-Chancellor to stay in office with the indictment of fraud, we are not satisfied.

“And they cannot direct our members to resume work.  Only the union can call off the strike, because we are still on strike.  We are waiting for our national president on what to do, but if he directs that we should continue the strike, so be it.”

“Definitely, we are on strike now and we cannot call of the strike when our members who were terminated are not recalled properly,” Fasuwon declared.

He also stressed: “What we are asking for is unconditional recall of our members and without that the strike will continue.”

On the content of the communique, the SSANU leader declared: “We disagreed on a communique that is having the need to pass vote of confidence on a Vice-Chancellor that is currently undergoing corruption charges in court and returning millions of naira into the coffers of the university as a result of the fraud that he has participated in.  I don’t think any agency of government will agree to say that they are passing a vote of confidence on him to continue in office.”