Date Published: 05/20/11

UNAD VC's sack vindictive, illegal -Group

A coalition of Non Governmental Organisations in Ekiti State, the Movement for Peace and Good Governance in Ekiti (MOPEGO) has described the sack of the University of Ado-Ekiti (UNAD) Vice Chancellor, Prof Dipo Kolawole as not only vindictive but illegal, saying; “the latest attempts to justify the sack by accusing Prof Kolawole of fraud is not only ridiculous but laughable.”

Rising from its “State of the State” meeting held in Ado-Ekiti today, MOPEGO, a pressure group, consisting of the Ekiti Justice and Equity Movement (EJEM), Ekiti Justice Group (EJG), The Patriots (EP), Ekiti Restoration Group (ERG) and others in a statement signed by its

Chairman, Dr. Tunji Oluwasanmi said politicisation of university administration was inimical to the development of education and must not be encouraged under whatever guise.

“From information available to us, the law guiding the appointment of the VC, as contained in Paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 of the University was duly followed on the appointment of Prof Kolawole and the VC couldonly be removed through a joint meeting of the University Senate and Governing Council.

“Even in the case of any act of misconduct as now being peddled by the government and its agents, the Senate and Council must invite the VC to defend himself. It is if the VC is found guilty after his defence that the Senate and Council would make recommendation to the governor, as a visitor.

“In this instant case, Prof Kolawole was not indicted by the Senate or Council for any known offence while there is presently no Governing Council in UNAD.

“Besides, the story on the purported indictment of Prof Kolawole by an imaginary Internal Audit Report is not only diversionary but an attempt to justify and arbitrary action already taken by the State government. Or how on earth do you first sack a university VC and later go to press with an audit report, indicting him?

“Even going by newspaper reports on the purported audit report, Governor Kayode Fayemi has not seen the report, meaning that the removal of Prof Kolawole by the governor could not have been based on a report that the governor is yet to be seen. So could Fayemi have removed Prof Kolawole, acting on an audit report he had not seen?

“Obviously, the purported removal of Prof Kolawole, whose tenure has been widely adjudged as the best in the history of UNAD is not only malicious but ridiculous and can only happen in a society like ours where rule of law, due process and common sense have been thrown to the dogs,” MOPEGO said.