By Ayodele Oni
Again, the race for the emergence of a substantive 13th Vice Chancellor for the University of Ibadan, (UI) has hit the rock.
This follows the decision of the new governing council of the university, headed by former Governor of Edo state, Chief John Oyegun, to start the process afresh.
It was learnt that the new UI Council, after its meeting last week Friday, resolved that the process of UI VC race which started since May 2020, should be cancelled.
It also agreed that apart from the cancellation, the stained process should be re-advertised for the VC position.
It will be recalled that prior to the appointment of the new Governing Council, serious crisis engulfed the selection process which led to the inability of the previous council, led by Mr Joshua Waklek, to get a substantive VC.
The selection process was suspended in October, last year, following the inability of the immediate past Governing Council to agree on an acceptable candidate for the plum job.
Prof. Adebola Ekanola, was, thereafter, named an acting VC in December, 2020, and was expected to be in the saddle for six months.
The Acting VC tenure has been extended due to the continued delay to appoint a substantive candidate.
The National Universities Commission, (NUC) has, earlier, announced the suspension of the process, before the new Council was named.
The immediate past VC of the institution, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, once remarked in an interview that the process of appointing a VC at the UI had always been marred with conflicts of interest that had made the process tough and competitive from time immemorial.
Prof Okayinka has been fingered as one of those behind the current stalemate, as he was reported to have placed some hurdles for his successor.
According to him, “The situation is very unfortunate and we are optimistic that the matter would be resolved amicably eventually.
“The current situation is not entirely new to those of us who are familiar with this institution although the bad blood in the present circumstances has been taken to perhaps unprecedented levels,” the ex VC was quoted in the interview.
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