Workers of University of Ibadan are taking no chance and leaving no stone unturned in their mission to ensure the incumbent Vice-Chancellor, Professor Idowu Olayinka does not “impose his Deputy, Professor Kayode Adebowale as his successor”.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the determined workers were at the official quarters of the chairman of the institution’s governing council, Joshua Waklek till late in the night on Friday protesting against the alleged plan to announce Adebowale as the next Vice-Chancellor of the institution.
The protest on Friday night, came as a surprise to many because the coverning council had on Friday afternoon suspended the process for the selection of the next VC after meeting representatives of the protesters, who are members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU).
The representatives had during the meeting warned the council chairman “not to allow himself to be used by the outgoing vice-chancellor, Idowu Olayinka.”
They maintained that the incumbent VC wants to perpetuate himself in office by installing his deputy.
However, the institution’s workers argued that the suspension of the selection process was not enough to show the council is ready to accede to their demands.
Mr .Wale Akinremi, the chairman of SSANU explained that Adebowale, alongside another shortlisted candidate, Profeasor Femi Mimoko, must be screened out because they ” are unqualified to be appointed.”
Speaking further, the SSANU chairman explained that Adebowale played critical roles in “the abysmal performance of the outgoing vice-chancellor’s administration”.
“Soon Adebowale, we concluded that we don’t want an extension of the Olayinka-led administration on our campus. We all work together, so we know him very well. If not, why will the whole members of SSANU and NASU insist on opposing a single candidate? While I cannot speak for the academic staff, we quite know that the larger percentage of them don’t want him.”
In the same vein, he alleged that Mr Mimiko sacked workers for holding different political views on campus while he was the Vice-Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko.
“Professor Femi Mimiko is also anti-labour. While he was the vice-chancellor at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), he sacked some of our members because they wore shirts of an opposition party because of his brother (former governor Olusegun Mimiko) who was the incumbent governor. So such a professor that could not tolerate dissent cannot become a vice-chancellor in a university like UI,” he said.
