LASU VC clears ground on sack of ASUU chairman, deputy

There seems to be no end yet to the current crisis ravaging the Lagos State University over the dismissal of 15 lecturers including the current Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Dr. Isaac Akinloye Oyewunmi and his Deputy, Dr. Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu over allegations of misconduct.

At a press conference organised by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Lanre Fagbohun in response to issues that have come up over the dismissal, he said that the assertions that the decision of council did not follow due process, was manipulated, and was for political reasons are not correct.

According to him, the University acted strictly in conformity with rules and regulations adding that the petition pursuant to which Dr. Isaac Oyewunmi was investigated same which was dated 6th October, 2016 was copied to Governor Akinwumi Ambode, the Deputy Governor; the Speaker; the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice; the Special Adviser on Education; the Chancellor and the Pro-Chancellor.

“On 28th October, 2016, the Attorney General requested the University for update on the investigation. The Special Adviser on Education made a similar request on December 13, 2016. I wrote to Dr. Oyewunmi to comment on the petition and he denied the allegations contained in it.

I wrote to the three members of staff who were mentioned in the petition and they all responded that Dr. Oyewunmi indeed demanded for the money in question to process the results of the students.

“It was premised on this that a 5-man Fact-Finding Panel headed by Professor Michael Ikhariale was set up. In the Panels’ report dated 16th January, 2017, the Panel recommended that Dr. Isaac Akinloye Oyewunmi had a case to answer.

It is instructive to note that the Fact-Finding Panel called the Petitioner and four other witnesses. Dr. Oyewunmi also appeared before the Panel,” he said.

The VC maintained that it was based on the report of the Fact-Finding Panel that a formal query was issued to Dr. Oyewunmi by Academic Staff Establishment, and the case was thereafter referred to the Joint Council/Senate (Academic) Disciplinary Committee on 3rd April, 2017.

“The Committee held three (3) meetings in the course of which it interacted with the Petitioner and thirteen (13) other witnesses. The Petitioner and three (3) of the witnesses were in the class of seven (7) of which the Petitioner was the Class Representative. Dr. Oyewunmi also appeared before the Committee.”

Prof Fagbohun said this was the basis of the dismissal of Dr. Oyewunmi for misconduct as it relates to demanding money from students to process their results.
He said in the case of the ASUU-LASU Vice Chairman Dr. Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu who was dismissed for misconduct relating to alteration of marks, following information from students that some withdrawn students of the Department of History and International Studies had returned to the University through the assistance of some members of staff.

“I directed the University Integrated Data Centre (LIDC) to carry out a forensic audit of changes made during the 2015/2016 academic session. The forensic evidence linked the PF number and password of Dr. Adeyemi-Suenu to the alterations, thus, I directed the Dean of the Faculty to investigate same. The Faculty of Arts set-up a 5-man Fact-Finding Panel on Wednesday January 25, 2017.

“I received the Report of the Panel on March 27, 2017. There was a majority Report signed by four (4) members of the Panel (including the Chair, Dr. Abidemi Atolagbe, Associate Professor Department of English).

The minority report was issued by Dr. Aboderin-Shonibare, who also happens to be the Treasurer/Financial Secretary of ASUU-LASU. The position of the majority report was that Dr. Adebowale-Suenu had a case to answer.

In consequence of this, a query was issued to him on 3rd of April, 2017 by Academic Staff Establishment to explain his involvement in the allegation of alteration of results.

He denied the allegations in his response of 5th April, 2017. The case was, thus, referred to the Joint Council/Senate (Academic) Disciplinary Committee,” he said.

He concluded that staff of LASU, manipulation of student’s records and result attracts dismissal as sanction.

He maintained that the dismissal of Dr. Oyewunmi and Dr. Adeyemi-Suenu is not aimed at weakening ASUU-LASU.

“From what I have earlier stated, the dismissal of both Dr. Oyewunmi and Dr. Adeyemi-Suenu among others was pursuant to thorough investigation of specific and documented allegations of misconduct.

The cases of these two individuals have nothing to do with Union related activities, thus, the University sees the frantic efforts being made by some individuals to make these cases a Union issue as a deliberate ploy to distract and hoodwink members of the public,” he said.

He also dismissed the allegation that the sack was done so as not to have a dissenting voice when Management finally perfect its plan to increase Tuition saying this is a figment of the imagination of those raising it that it is a ploy to use this to incite students to become restive.