- No, it was induce from Alausa to silence union-ASUU
By Gabriel Dike
Amidst protest against the sack of two union leaders, the management of the Lagos State University (LASU) has defended the dismissal of 17 staff for misconduct, insisting the Governing Council followed due process.
Defending the sack of the academic and non-teaching by the Prof Adebayo Ninolowo-led governing council last week, LASU Vice Chancellor, Prof Olanrewaju Fagbohun, debunked the insinuations by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that its chairman, Dr. Isaac Oyewunmi and vice chairman, Dr. Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu were unjustly dismissed from the service of LASU.
Prof Fagbohun flanked by the university management team, disclosed that 24 out of 26 council members took the decision to sack the 17 staff without a dissenting voice.
In a swift reaction to the university management position, ASUU-LASU, Secretary, Dr. Tony Dansu, said the union chairman and his vice were victimized and that the sack was an attempt to weaken the union over certain issues.
The VC explained that he inherited the case of the ASUU-LASU chairman and had to forward it to the council after an administrative panel came out with a report that Dr. Oyewunmi, had a case to answer thus he was issued query while the joint council/senate disciplinary committee handled the matter.
According to him, Abiodun Davis Alabi (petitioner), Aderonke Bademosi, Abosede Bukola and Emmanuel Zinsu, 2003 modular students of Political Education confirmed that ‘’there was indeed a demand for N50,000 by Dr.Oyewunmi which he corroborated on audio clip of his conversation with Dr. O.T.F. Abanikanda.
His words: ‘’This was the basis of the dismissal of Dr. Oyewunmi for misconduct as it relates to demanding money from students to process their results.’’
On Dr. Adeyemi-Suenu, Prof Fagbohun, said the case against him were supplied by some students that some of their colleagues withdrawn from the Department of History and International Studies had returned to the university through the assistance of some members of staff.
‘’I directed the university Integrated Data Centre (LIDIC) to carry out a forensic audit of changes made during the 2015/2016 academic session. The forensic evidence linked the PF number and password of Dr.Adeyemi-Suenu to the alterations. I directed the Dean of Faculty to investigate same’’, he added.
Fabgohun revealed that five-man fact finding panel was constituted and the majority report signed by four out of five members said Adeyemi-Suenu had case to answer and the issue was referred to joint council/senate stating 23 witnesses were invited.
Said VC:’’ The dismissal of both Dr. Oyewunmi and Dr. Adeyemi-Suenu among others were pursuant to thorough investigation of specific and documented allegations of misconduct. The cases of these two individuals have nothing to do with union related activities.’’
ASUU-LASU through the secretary, Dr. Dansu, insisted that no individual council members present during the sitting was given the report to study as was the practice and that from the union’s investigations, the decision was politically motivated from Alausa.
Dr. Dansu disclosed that the council meeting lasted till 8pm on September 7 and the sack letter was dated same date and that before the ASUU-LASU chairman received the letter, the university security personnel were in his office to force him out noting ‘’the union is convinced that the sack of our chairman and vice chairman was politically induced by people in Alausa’’