UNILAG Senate elects woman Acting VC Ogunsola

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie, Robert Egbe, Damola Kola-Dare and Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

• How Registrar nearly stalled meeting
• Suit against Babalakin, others dropped
• SSANU seeks recomposition of visitation panel
• Momoh appointed interim Council chair

The Senate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) on Monday elected a Professor of Clinical Microbiology, Folasade Ogunsola, the institution’s Acting Vice Chancellor.

This followed President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that the Senate should elect an Acting VC, as stipulated in the University Act, instead of the Governing Council doing so.

The President also asked the Council-appointed Acting VC, Prof. Theophilus Soyombo, to step down.

Ogunsola, who was Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development Services) under the ousted Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, polled 135 votes to defeat her closest opponent and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Management Services), Prof. Ben Oghojafor, who got 31 votes.

A total of 167 professors voted during the Senate meeting presided over by former Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Chioma Agomo.

It was gathered that one vote was declared void.

Director of Academic Affairs and most senior Deputy Registrar in the university, Mrs. Ola Makinde, coordinated the election.

Agomo told reporters that the election followed due process.

Ogunsola was the first woman to be the Provost of the College of Medicine University of Lagos before she became DVC.

There were some intrigues during the meeting where the acting Vice Chancellor was elected yesterday.

It was learnt that the Registrar, Mr. Azeez Oladejo, allegedly attempted to stop the meeting, even before it started.

In a mail, titled: Notice to All Senate Members, Oladejo, who is said to be an ally of the erstwhile Governing Council Chairman, Dr. Wale Babalakin, said no meeting had been summoned.

President Buhari had told Babalakin and Ogundipe to step down until the visitation panel concludes its investigation.

Read Also: VIDEO: How UNILAG Acting VC emerged

The UNILAG Senate on Monday filed an application at the National Industrial Court to discontinue a suit challenging Ogundipe’s sack.

The Senate was surprised to meet the notice on the locked doors when its members arrived at the auditorium.

Some of them were heard speaking a Yoruba proverb: Won ti’lekun mo omo onile (They have locked out the landlord).

Speaking with The Nation, a member of Senate, who spoke in confidence, said: “Oladejo is not a member of Senate. Did you notice that he signed as Secretary to Council and not Secretary to Senate and Council? Oladejo has exhibited gross ignorance of the statutes and laws of the university, thereby misleading the general public with misinformation.”

Chairman of the university’s chapter of the Chairman Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Dele Ashiru, has said calm will return to the institution with Ogunsola’s election.

Despite ASUU’s support for President Buhari’s decision to resolve the UNILAG crisis, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has expressed misgivings about the process.

Its National President Chijioke Ugwoke said in a statement that the composition of the visitation panel favoured ASUU.

He said: “The crisis in UNILAG has the ASUU as a major participant. Indeed, ASUU is the complainant in this matter. The composition of the special visitation panel with a preponderance of professors (ASUU members) is an indication that the decision of the panel would be tampered with by ASUU. The fact that they are former vice chancellors also implies the tendency to protect one of their own – an embattled vice chancellor…”

The Federal Government has appointed Dr. John Momoh as the interim chairman of the Governing Council in place of Babalakin. As the President of the UNILAG Alumni Association, Momoh represents the alumni on the Council.