The Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Universities in Nigeria (CVCUN) says the senate at the Unversity of Lagos (UNILAG) won’t recognise Omololu Soyombo, the acting vice-chancellor.
Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the vice-chancellor of the institution, was sacked on Wednesday by the varsity’s governing council during a meeting presided over by Wale Babalakin, its pro-chancellor and chairman.
The council had thereafter named Soyombo as the acting vice-chancellor of the institution in a decision which a member of the council claimed ridiculed the varsity’s rules.
NAN reports that Yakubu Ochefu, secretary-general of CVCUN, told journalists in Abuja on Friday that the extant law of the university states that if a vice-chancellor is removed, one of the deputies should be appointed to act.
“Unilag has three deputies, none of them was appointed as acting vice-chancellor but somebody else entirely,” he said.
“This is going to pose another problem, senate members will not allow such a person to chair their meeting because they don’t know him within the context of laws establishing universities.
“The challenge we have with this particular action is that the university community says the council did not follow due process; indeed, the communication from the embattled vice-chancellor is clear and it is to that effect.
“In the procedure for removing a vice-chancellor, you have to set up a joint council/senate committee.
”The vice-chancellor will be given the opportunity to defend himself; from there, a submission will be made to the council which will take a decision.”
According to him, the situation in UNILAG at the moment is unhealthy for the foremost university.
”As CVC, we advise the council to take a step back and allow the process of removing a vice-chancellor, as established by the law, to take its course,” he said.
“It is a simple process. If it finds the man guilty, the council can remove him, but it should go through the normal process.”
Ogundipe was removed amid allegations of financial impropriety and gross misconduct.
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