…New VC may not resume …FG urged to intervene in crisis Workers of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-
Ife, under the aegis of Non-Academic Staff Union
and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria
Universities, on Thursday continued their
protest. They organised a protest on Thursday to mark
the exit of the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Prof.
Bamitale Omole, who will complete his tenure
today. On Wednesday, they protested non-payment of
their allowances and alleged imposition of a
newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of the
univesrity, Prof. Ayobami Salami, which they
claimed was illegal because of alleged
manipulation of the process that produced him. The members of the university staff unions had
embarked on continuous protest and strike
action since June 6. They noted that the protest and strike action
were to enable the university authorities accede
to their demands. The protesters, who carried a mock coffin of
Omole round the university campus, were
singing unprintable songs against the outgoing
the former vice chancellor, describing his tenure
as “oppressive and corrupt.” Putting on white dresses, the protesters said
their choice of white attire was to show that they
were not mourning but rejoicing the exit of
Omole. Meanwhile the vice chancellor, Prof. Salami, may
not resume office today as scheduled because of
the protests. The OAU SSANU chairman, Comrade Ademola
Oketunde, appealed to President Muhammed
Buhari to intervene in the crisis bedeviling the
university for peace to reign. He implored the federal government to
investigate alleged injustice in the university
during the tenure of Omole. Oketunde said: “We are full of joy that after being
in bondage over the past five-year, Omole is
going. We have to celebrate his exit and pray no
to have a VC like him again. We have lost
confidence in both the University management
and even the Governing Council. “We call on President Muhammed Buhari to
intervene by appointing an acting VC. The FG
should set up an investigative panel that is not
biased and also extend the war against
corruption to OAU.” He faulted the decision of the university
management to shut the institution indefinitely,
saying, “Shutting down the university shows
that the school management is guilty of our
allegations. It shows that they have done a
wrong thing.” Also, the OAU NASU chairman, Comrade Wole
Odewunmi, insisted that the union would not
dialogue on matters relating to appointment of
the new VC. According to him, “The appointment of Salami is
not accepted by my union. We want the
university authorities to follow due process and
not bring in someone through the back doors.
The FG should come in right now and appoint an
acting VC for OAU in other for peace to reign.”