From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
A group under the auspices of Media Monitor for Good Governance (MMGG) has picked a hole in an anniversary speech made by the Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) Prof Abayomi Sunday Fashina when he clocked 100 days in office recently.
The group alleged that the VC on the occasion of his 100 days in office accused Nigerian leaders of paying lip services to agriculture and education development in the country.
The media monitor group wondered how a serving VC could be so careless to the extent of, “blaming the government that favoured him with the appointment in spite of more qualified candidates that applied for that position”.
Director-General of the group Otunba Olusegun Monday Folorunso, in a statement to newsmen, said
the VC’s criticism of government may not be unconnected with the pending allegations against him and his interrogation by ICPC for allegedly collecting double salary from two government institutions.
The statement said:
‘It was unfair for Professor Sunday Abayomi Fashina, Vice Chancellor of FUOYE, who was basking in the euphoria of his 100 days in office last month, to use the occasion to castigate a government that appointed him to office just about five months ago.
‘The media was awash two weeks ago with the news that Professor Abayomi Sunday Fashina made the statement at a well-attended ceremony in Oye Ekiti, where he also promised to raise billions of naira through his friends to turn around the fortune of the Federal Government-owned university, which he likened to a “Dead Vehicle”.
‘Excerpts from newspaper publications on the one hundred days in office of Prof Abayomi Fashina run thus: “FUOYE VC ends war with ASUU, reinstates suspended Union chair, Omonijo. The over the three-year war between the Management of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, (FUOYE) and a caucus of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) led by the suspended local chairman, Dr Gabriel Omonijo, will soon come to an end as Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof Abayomi Fasina said he has concluded arrangement for the reinstatement of the suspended Chairman of who was slammed with indefinite suspension in 2019.
“The VC also advised his colleagues across the country to think outside the box to be able to fund their universities, saying no institution of learning can develop with sole and absolute reliance on money from the government.
“The VC said: “As part of our efforts to restore orderliness and peace, we are bringing back Dr Omonijo and Mr Seun Odedeji who were suspended on accounts of their union activities during the time of my predecessor. We have promised this and we have opted for out of court settlement”.
“On how best to fund any university, he said: ”God is the one bankrolling us. If you think outside the box, you will do many things. We are going into partnerships with bodies, organisations and well-meaning individuals for them to invest here. We are also using our vast human resources to achieve results.“We are also blocking leakages to be able to raise our IGR and these have been paying off”.
‘Fashina said the present government of Nigeria has not been able to achieve food security status despite its human and material resources because it pays lip service to agriculture.“Nigeria and its leaders only pay lip service to agriculture. We only do farming with our mouths. That is why we can’t produce what we eat.
‘The VC said he would place a high premium on the welfare of workers by ensuring timely promotion, payment of salaries and benefits, provide affordable transport system and security of students and staff.
‘Fashina, who inaugurated some projects promised to provide modern structures and road networks to connect the school, give it more beauty and increase the quality of education within the next one year.
‘We as the group of media monitor wish to call on the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Alhaji Sabo Nanono and his Supervisory Minister of Education Prof. Adamu Adamu to reprimand the VC and make him tender a public apology and public withdrawal of his statement that President Buhari was paying lip service to food security in Nigeria within fourteen days, else he will be forced to resign through an unprecedented public protest.
‘This is because it is illogical for him to be a partaker in an administration that he is castigating publicly and biting the fingers which in all righteousness are currently feeding him.
‘It is unfortunate that Professor Abayomi Fashina, who has just been interrogated by Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) with many other pending alleged cases e.g collection of double salaries, unprocedural sack and suspension of Principal Officers etc at the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Public Petition and Ethics could have the temerity to blame President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government for administrative ineptitude when he has every machinery at his disposal to channel his advice to appropriate quarters without having to dance naked before the global community where his carnival-like celebration went viral.’