Education, Featured
PROFESSOR Olawatoyin Ogundipe, vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, has been sacked by the Governing Council of the ivory tower. But Ogundipe swiftly issued a statement stressing no such thing happened.
Ogundipe was sacked on Wednesday, August 12, through a notice signed Oladejo Azeez, registrar, and secretary to the governing council of the university.
The notice stated that Ogundipe was sacked over serious wrongdoing. Azeez stated that the vice-chancellor was sacked after a meeting of the governing council at the National Universities Commission in Abuja.
The meeting was chaired by Wale Babalakin, pro-chancellor, and chairman, Governing Council of the university.
Realnews reports that seven members of the council voted for the removal of Ogundipe, four voted against it while one person voted that the VC should rather be placed on suspension.
Part of the notice read: “The general public is hereby notified that at an emergency meeting held on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, and in accordance with the statutory powers vested in it by law, the Governing Council of the University of Lagos removed Prof. Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS from office as Vice-Chancellor of the University with immediate effect.
“The decision was based on the council’s investigation of serious acts of wrongdoing, gross misconduct, financial recklessness and abuse of office against Prof. Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS,” it said.
However, Ogundipe has urged the general public to disregard the notice that announced his sack, describing it as mischief meant to discredit his good works at the university.
A statement personally signed by Ogundipe and made available to the media denounced Azeez stating: “This is untrue and a figment of his imagination. Therefore, stakeholders of UNILAG and the general public are advised to disregard this mischievous disinformation about the sitting Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG contained in that notice. Professor Ogundipe still remains UNILAG’s Vice-Chancellor.”
Realnews recalls that there has been a supremacy battle between Babalakin and the university management led by Ogundipe over the lined-up programmes for the institution’s 51st convocation ceremony earlier scheduled in March.
The federal government suspended the event indefinitely. Their disagreement started over the choice of the guest speaker at the convocation.
The school had initially settled for a former Ghanaian president as the speaker for the convocation lecture who later wrote to express his unavailability during the period. It was based on the development that the management settled for the communications minister.
But the Babalakin-led council faulted the university’s choice of a guest speaker without the knowledge of the council. They also could not agree on the awardees meant to be conferred with honorary degrees.
Babalakin had earlier had a running battle with the university management over contracts and projects’ implementation resulting in the indictment of some serving and retired principal officers of the institution.
– Aug. 12, 2020 @ 18.59 GMT |
Tags: Confusion: How UNILAG VC who was sacked refuted such happened
