FUNAAB VC, registrar, bursar’s offices shut

...Over fear of court injunction

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By Femi SHODUNKE

NIGERIA:  MONDAY, October 30, 2017 was not a good day on campus at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) in Ogun State as the acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ololade Enikuomehin, hurriedly ordered his office locked up.

On Enikuomehin’s order, the offices of the Registrar and Bursar were similarly shut to prevent the senior principals of the university from allegedly being served court injunction.

GatewayMail gathered that a senior professor (name withheld) in the university, who contested but lost out in the race for the Vice-Chancellor’s seat, may have secured the injunction to prevent the handing over to the newly appointed helmsman of the institution, 56-year-old Prof. Felix Kolawole Salako, who is due to resume on Wednesday, November 1.

It was learnt that workers in the two offices were shocked when they arrived the main campus, but unable to gain access to their duty posts.

“The offices were under lock and key since morning; no file could move and even scores of workers working in all the offices couldn’t report for work,” a source said on Monday.

When asked the rationale behind the action, the source said: “They wanted to evade being served court injunction stopping the handover to the new Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Salako, whose elaborate event takes place on Wednesday.”

The source added: “It was alleged that a Professor, who contested for the Vice-Chancellor’s position and lost, and had earlier written petition to the Governing Council, was behind the court injunction.

“In fact, I think he went to court when it was obvious justice was not done to his petition by the Governing Council, because he felt the process that produced Salako was unfair, particularly as Salako’s hands were untidy in some of the financial misapplications and the alleged bad running of the university under former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olusola Oyewole.”

Another source said that the development disrupted the planned luncheon to honour Enikuomehin, with many of the guests who turned up disappointed and turned back after discovering the ugly turn of events.

“A luncheon was scheduled for today in honour of the Ag. VC as part of the proposed handing over ceremony,” the source said, adding: “Invited guests were surprised on getting to the VC office, the event venue, to meet it locked up on the order of the Acting VC.”

The source further said: “A curious guest put a call to the Acting VC who confirmed that he gave the instruction based on speculation that some people were planning to seek court injunction to halt the inauguration of the new VC.

“He added that some people were of the opinion that he was not ready to hand over, but he would do anything possible to frustrate any agitation on the choice of the new VC.”

On the angry Professor, the source said: “He felt aggrieved that Salako’s selection was fraught with bias and that the process did not conform to standard procedure.  Also, that the security report on him was too damning and that the Governing Council ignored the security report, considered a salient parameter in the selection of a VC, to unfairly favoured Salako.”

The acting Vice-Chancellor, who was contacted, hasn’t respond as at the time of filing this report, while a “young” professor, who was alleged to be among the camp against Salako, declined to comment, but referred GatewayMail to another professor leading the aggrieved lecturers, who was yet to respond to our enquiry.

It would be recalled that the university Governing Council (GC) had last month announced Salako, an indigene of Ibadan who was born in Lagos, as successor to Oyewole, who has been facing 18-count charges bordering on corruption, abuse of office and misappropriation of fund running into N800 million at an Ogun State High Court alongside ex-GC Chairman and Pro-Chancellor, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, and former Bursar, Mr. Moses Ilesanmi.

Also appointed at the same time are the Registrar, Dr. Hakeem Adebola Adekola, and Bursar, Mr. Chukwunwike Ezekpeazu.

According to a news release signed by Adewale Kupoluyi for the Head, Directorate of Public Relations, the Chairman of the GC, Dr. Aboki Zhawa, who announced the new appointment, said that the process was guided by the rules, regulations and the Act which established the university.

“The process was guided by rules, regulations and the Act (establishing the University),” Zhawa, a lawyer, said, adding: “We were guided by provisions of the Act, the rules of the University and Federal Character.  We, as a Council, decided to set up the committee that will do the screening for the Council.”

He stressed: “It was after screening that the Technical Committee was mandated to look at the applicants; to see if they have complied with the spirit of the advertisement. “The Technical Committee came up with a good list and they presented to the Selection Board,” the Chairman stressed, while further stating: “Having looked at the list, we made a recommendation to the Council and it approved the list and the other recommendations that were submitted.”

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