The Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU), Akure Zone, has accused the Federal Government of alleged docility and compromise over allegations of illegal promotions and arbitrary sack of staff being perpetrated by the management of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti(FUOYE).
The academic body particularly said some academic staff of the university were allegedly receiving double salaries while some were given undue accelerated promotions by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Soremekun, without following due process.
Dismissing the allegations, Soremekun said all appointments, promotions and recruitments done by the management were ratified by the Governing Council, describing the accusations as coming from those who have little knowledge about how the university was being operated.
Soremekun added that whoever has evidence of fraud or any act of favouritism or nepotism against the management should forward same to appropriate quarters, rather than peddling rumour around.
Addressing a press conference in Ado Ekiti on Monday, ASUU Chairmen from all universities in Akure zone, led by the Zonal Chairman, Prof. Olu -Olu Olufayo, said the federal government should immediately set up a visitation panel to probe all the allegations against the Vice-Chancellor, if truly it was committed to the fight against graft.
Olufayo added that the panel must look into how the ASUU chairman in FUOYE, Dr. Akinyemi Omonijo and two other academic staff were allegedly sacked with brazen disregard to the statute that established the institution just for criticising the actions of the Vice-Chancellor.
“This interaction is to tell you about the docility of the FG on the administrative recklessness of FUOYE VC, Prof Soremekun. We have shown to FG a document containing the rotten state of infrastructure, poor students’ welfare, wrong academic patronage, financial mismanagement, among others being perpetrated in this university under the guise of trying to protect some individuals.
“Gross violation of the university statute has become a norm in FUOYE where an acting Bursar can be in position for two years when the statute stipulated six months. The university is still paying the salary of a staff that left the university in 2016 while also paying HOD allowance to someone not appointed as Head of Department.
“While those who criticised them were being sacked, those who were perceived to be friends were being rewarded through illegal promotions, recruitments and appointments.
“We are still marvelled at the indifference of the management to the reported scam by a staff of the university who claimed to have solved a 156-year-old Reinmann Mathematical hypothesis and would earn $1m from USA based Clay Mathematics Institute. Up to now, VC has not deemed it fit to ask the staff questions about this international embarrassment.
“We, ASUU from this zone called on the FG to constitute a visitation panel to the university, this in our own belief will correct all anomalies and transform the university to what both staff and students can be proud of, because all these are destroying academic system”, he said.
Speaking further, the FUOYE VC, who responded through the university’s Public relations Officer, Mr. Geoffrey Bakji, said : “That we have committed financial fraud or favouring people with appointments, recruitments or allowing them to get more juicy positions without following due process was a figment of their critics’ imaginations.
“The VC has the power to appoint whoever that is qualified for any position. And don’t also forget that the era of TSA and IPPIS has curtailed any form of fraud in the fiscal policy of any university. The university has been operating financial discipline.
“I won’t comment on the issue of the suspension of Dr. Gabriel Omonijo and two others by the management for unruly behaviour, because they are in court. If they know they have a good case, let them wait and allow the court to adjudicate on the matter”, he stated.
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