The National Assembly and the Governing Council of the Federal University, Oye, Ekiti, are set for a showdown over the fate of the sacked two principal officers of the university.
The Senate Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions, headed by Senator Ayo Akinyelure, which mediated in the matter had, on Wednesday, recommended that two sacked officers be given a soft landing.
The Committee had pointed out that the offences for which Mr Olatubosun Odusanya was sacked as a Registrar and Mrs Bolatito Akande removed as Bursar were too trivial and amounted to personal vendatta.
The Senate Committee which gave the Governing Council 15 days within which to comply with its recommendation, however, advised the two officers to proceed on sabbatical leave for peace to reign on the campus.
In a twist on Friday, the Management of FUOYE insisted that there was no going back on its action as the officers were relieved of their duties in accordance with the University’s laid down rules.
The statement, signed by the Media Adviser to the Vice Chancellor, Mr Wole Balogun, said: “We wish to put it on records that what really happened during the session was indeed a revalidation of the decision of the FUOYE Governing Council ably chaired by Dr. Mohammed Yahuza, to show the way out of the University for the Ex-Registrar on the grounds of his gross misconduct in form of several infractions he committed against the University recruitment Regulations, Federal Character Commission Establishment Act and the Civil service Rules.
“Senator Akinyelure and his other colleagues had warned the Ex-Registrar and people like him in the Federal Civil Service to desist from such actions. The Senators even promised that they would sponsor a bill that would discourage granting of arbitrary waivers on advertising existing vacancies in Federal Institutions.
“The Management, also, recalled that the Senate Committee members asked Odusanya several pertinent questions bordering on his illegal dealings as Registrar and Director of Administration (D.A) of FUOYE and he had no satisfactory answers to these questions.
“We also recall that the Senate Committee as a matter of fact, saw reasons with the University Governing Council for its decision to terminate the appointment of the estwhile Registar.
“The VC in his response to Odusanya’s spurious allegation that the VC was behind his sack had clarified that he was not the Governing Council that sacked the Ex-Registrar.
“And as a matter of fact, the Chairman of the Council, Dr. Yahuza, also gave incontrovertible evidence for the sack of the embattled ex-Registrar to the Senate Committee.
“The Senate Committee resolved to attend more closely and deeply into the issues in an Executive session with only the Principal Officers of the University and the Council members so that they could effectively arbitrate on the matter without the full glare of the public through the cameras and reporters and other members of the University who, in soldarity, were with the VC and the Council.
“It was at the Executive session that the Senate Committee, having listened to both parties airing their views in a no-holds-barred manner, appealed passionately to the University Council Chairman, to consider giving a soft landing for Odusanya in the interest of peace.
“The Council Chairman, had replied the Senate Committee that while he would consider such advice, such decision, which would be a joint one by the members of the Council in a later meeting, would only be possible subject to fulfillment of certain pertinent conditions that the Council would give to the esthwhile Registar.
“To further set the records straight, the two sacked Odusanya and Akande are yet to exhaust the avenues available for them to appeal the decision of the Governing Council regarding the possibility of giving them a soft landing.”
It remains to see what the Senate would do at the expiration of the 15-day ultimatum it gave the University for the Reinstatement of the officers.
