By Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Governing Council of the University of Ibadan has approved the appointment of Prof Adebola Ekanola as the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan at its meeting held on Monday, November 30.
The approval followed the recommendation of the Senate after its meeting held at the International Conference Centre of the university on Monday, which was presided over by the Provost College of Medicine, UI, Prof Olayinka Omigbodun.
The Director of Public Communication, UI, Mr Olatunji Oladejo, in a statement made available to Daily Sun in Ibadan on Monday evening, said the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, UI, Nde Joshua Waklek Mutka, presided over the meeting, where the recommendation of the Senate was approved.
Ekanola had emerged winner at the election conducted during the Senate meeting. He defeated four other candidates that also contested for the position. The five candidates were nominated and seconded during the meeting. Each of the candidates also accepted their nomination.
The Daily Sun‘s correspondent, who monitored the process at Senate meeting, reported that Ekanola polled a total of 275 votes from the 337 valid votes cast during the process. A total of 400 votes were cast, out of which 63 votes were invalid.
Prof Ayo Oluleye, a former Dean, Faculty of Technology, came a distant second with a total of 80 votes. A former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, of the University, Prof Adigun Agbaje, came third with a total of 15 votes.
Another former DVC (Academics), Prof Gbemisola Oke, scored 14 votes, while the current DVC in charge of research, innovation and strategic partnership, Prof Olanike Adeyemo, had 13 votes.
Before his appointment, Ekanola served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Director of Office of International Programmes (OIP) and Dean, Faculty of Arts, among other appointments.
The five-year tenure of the 12th Vice-Chancellor, Prof Idowu Olayinka, ended by 4 pm on Monday, November 30.
The process for appointment of his substantive successor, which began in June, this year, was cancelled by the National University Commission (NUC), based on crises that dogged the process. The NUC also directed that an Acting Vice-Chancellor should be appointed for a period of six months.
Meanwhile, some aggrieved members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities of the institution on Monday symbolically swept away the feet of the immediate Vice-Chancellor out of the office with brooms.
The participants that initially converged on the NISER Garden, venue of the farewell rally in the morning, marched to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor in the afternoon. They sang protest songs against the reign of the Olayinka and symbolically swept the floor from the VC’s office to the main gate of the university.
The SSANU chairman of the institution, Mr Wale Akinremi, said: ‘Why we are here today is not to dissipate energy or make noise but to appreciate the Almighty God for seeing us through the end of the regime of Prof. Idowu Olayinka. We suffered untold hardship under the watch of Prof. Idowu Olayinka as the VC. We pray that never again would any Vice-Chancellor put both the staff and students of the university through such tormentuous journey.
‘At the time Prof. Olayinka came in 2015, the Federal Government was not owing us promotion arrears in 2014, how come that it was in 2015 that he came in that they owed us promotion arrears? The fact is that his regime was an abysmal failure. For five years, both academic and non-academic members of staff could not get promotion arrears. We must have lost about two and a half years of academic calendar to the wasteful regime of Prof Idowu Olayinka.
‘Prof Olayinka tormented teachers of staff school for about five years. Teachers of staff school were collecting pension deductions from the Federal Government and they were signing monthly return forms under Prof. Olayinka. Till date, he has not paid them.
‘In other universities, teachers were promoted, but he did not do that. What manner of training did you benefit under Prof. Idowu Olayinka? What was the level of morale of workers or are you talking about security? Are you going to talk about works and maintenance or research grants? Till date, the cleaners are complaining. At some points, we had to contribute money for succour to the cleaners.
‘If there is a corrupt regime, it is that of Prof Olayinka. Today, go to Distance Learning School, there is no kobo; go to PG school, there is no kobo. All areas where you get Internally Generated Revenue, you cannot get anything.’
The Chairman of SSANU, UI, Malachy Etim, also said: ‘We are here by God’s grace to celebrate the exit of Prof Olayinka. It is a shameful thing for a VC to leave office without having a successor to hand over to. At the last minute to the end of his tenure, Prof Olayinka rushed to commission an uncompleted building project and one wonders why.’
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