How Ogunsola emerged first female UNILAG VC

By Esther Taiwo and Benjamin Omoike

EFCC urged to probe Ogundipe

A professor of medical microbiology, Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola, on Monday emerged the first female Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, having defeated her opponent and a deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of management services, Ben Oghojafor, with a wide margin.

Ogunsola, who scored 135 votes as against Oghojafor’s 31, specializes in disease control, particularly HIV/ AIDS. She was also the immediate past provost of College of Medicine, University of Lagos and is reputed as the first woman to occupy that position. She doubled as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development Services) of the institution since 2017, Daily Times gathered.

It was gathered that a total of 167 professors were accredited for voting while one vote was voided. It would be recalled that President Buhari, who is Visitor to the institution, had set up a seven-member visitation panel to look into the crisis rocking the university.

In a statement issued on Friday to announce the president’s recommendations, the director of press at the federal ministry of education, Ben Goong, noted that the panel would be inaugurated by the minister, Adamu Adamu, on Wednesday.

Ahead of the panel’s inauguration, the senate was mandated “to immediately convene to nominate an acting vicechancellor from among its members for confirmation by the governing council.”

But a memo by the university’s registrar, Oladejo Azeez, was addressed to the head of the management of the university’s auditorium not to make the venue available for the senate meeting.

The memo reads, “No meeting of the senate has been summoned. Members should await proper notice of meeting after the federal government of Nigeria has clarified some issues germane to the meeting.

“It follows that you are not to make any of your facilities available for any meeting until otherwise advised.”

But the senate reportedly sought approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the federal ministry of education before it commenced the process.

A member of the senate who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to talk to journalists, told our reporter on the phone that, “The meeting started with Professor Ogunsola briefing the Senate that the meeting was convened after due process was followed and that authority was granted by both the NUC and the education ministry.”

The source added that Mrs Ogunsola recused herself from anchoring the meeting and that the leader of the senate’s team to Abuja on Thursday, Chioma Agomo, was validly nominated to chair the meeting.

In her acceptance speech, Mrs Ogunsola, who doubles as the chairperson of Infections Control Africa Network, and member of the Lagos State COVID-19 task force, thanked the professors for entrusting her with what she described as a huge responsibility.

She was quoted as saying; “Electing me the acting vice-chancellor at such a time the university is going through so much is a big task.

But it is a task for all of us, and I appeal to you to help rewrite the story of this great university for good.”

It would be recalled that the former acting Vice Chancellor of the University Prof Theophilus Soyombo stepped down from the office following the directive from the President to do so.

He was appointed by the suspended Pro-chancellor and Chairman Governing Council, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN) led-Counil to replace Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe.

The development is coming as the Federal Government on Friday suspended both Dr Wale Babalakin, (SAN) and Prof. Ogundipe and set up a visitation panel.

Soyombo, in a statement on Saturday, said it was necessary he did so because the government had directed the UNILAG Senate to nominate an acting VC for the varsity.

Soyombo appealed to all staff and students of the institution to continue to go about their lawful activities in a peaceful manner Meanwhile, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been asked to probe the sacked ViceChancellor of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogun-dipe, over alleged looting and misappropriation of funds.

In a letter to the Commis¬sion, dated Friday, August 21, the petitioners stated that stakeholders of UNILAG and members of the public, whose taxes were used to run the uni-versity, were interested in the probe of the sacked VC.

The petition signed by Olo¬runfemi Adeyeye, on behalf of the Coalition of University of Lagos Student Unionists, reads, “We hereby petition the Eco¬nomic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to probe the sacked Vice Chancellor of the school, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, over his involvement (as seen in his defence) and in¬dictment in several allegations of looting and misappropria¬tion of funds, while in office as the vice-chancellor.

“It is already in pub¬lic domain, reports of a sub-committee headed by Dr. Saminu Dagari, a rep¬resentative of the Federal Government on the Council of the University of Lagos.

“This Committee was set up after contracted auditors looked into the account books of the University and have re¬portedly found the ‘hands of Esau, but the voice of Jacob.”

“Relying on reports al¬ready published by reputable news outfits, like Premium¬Times and The Guardian, we find it disturbing that the anticorruption agency is yet to take up this matter for the sake of national interest and in line with the anti-corrup¬tion mantra of the President Buhari-led administration.

“However, as concerned cit¬izens and direct victims of the ongoing crisis, we have taken it upon ourselves to reach out; to remind the EFCC of one of its statutory roles which is to keep an eagle eye on the financial running of public institutions by public servants.

“Members of the Council or Senate cannot be left with these serious allegations of financial recklessness as seen in those reports.

They are mere rap¬porteurs to the extent of their reports and powers. “In view of the aforemen¬tioned, it is pertinent that Nigerians are not kept in the dark as regards the running of public trust such as the University of Lagos.

UNILAG is not Bi-Courtney, neither is it a parish of The Redeemed Christian Church of God. Parents, whose children are being forced to sleep in bed-bug infested halls of residence, deserve to know what’s going on.

READ ALSO: Why UNILAG VC was removed — Babalakin

“Lecturers who sweat in overpopulated classrooms due to absence of functioning public address systems need to know.

The nonacadem¬ic staffers at the university should for no reason be kept in the dark about the financial standing of the university.

“The belief of the interna¬tional community in the transparency culture of the manage¬ment of affairs in the public sector needs to be strengthened.”