Fresh crisis is now rocking the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, over the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor for the university, as the selection process gathered more momentum.
This is just as a group, Ekiti Youth Agenda, EYA, has called on the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to swiftly halt the ongoing selection process of of a new Vice Chancellor.
In a statement signed by EYA President, Comrade Oludayo I’ve,and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the group also demanded that the incumbent Vice Chancellor be excused from the selection process.
Insisting that the minister cannot claim ignorance of the unfolding macabre dance in the university, the group disclosed that four out of the five external members of the Council, including the representative of Ministry of Education, have excused themselves from the process, as a result of the alleged way and manner the management is going on about the selection process.
The statement reads in part, “We are watching with keen interest, the unfolding events in FUOYE. We will not close our eyes and allow these desperate and highly biased individuals to destroy the image of the university, because of their selfish interests.
“We learnt on good authorities that the VC and the Registrar want to continue to control the IGR of the institution, hence they want their stooge to become the VC.
“All the Unions in the institution, ASUU, SSANU and NASU, have called on the appropriate authorities to pay close attention to what is happening in the university, to curb the impunity and high handedness of some individuals who are bent on destroying the future of the institution.
“The search team was not given the freedom required to discharge its responsibilities appropriately, as the incumbent Vice Chancellor, the controversial Registrar and the Bursar were in attendance in all the meetings convened for the selection process.”
The group stated further that the management of the institution connived with the Chairman of the Council to jettison the procedural roles of both the Search Team and the Selection Committee, as provided for in the extant university laws.
It was however learnt that the selection process assumed another dimension when the institution, which had earlier shortlisted nine candidates made up of three internal and six external candidates, later placed another advertisement for more interested candidates to apply.
However, CompassNG scooped that It was the brewing crisis over the selection process deepened at a recent shortlisting exercise, during which four external members of the University’s Council excused themselves with the outgoing Vice Chancellor in attendance.
At the said shortlisting, it was learnt that an internal candidate, who reportedly came third in the initial short-listing, was ranked sixth and the initial seventh ranked candidate now became third, while the initial first and second are now tied as first; a development which angered the stakeholders in the institution, who described it as unacceptable, because it is fundamentally flawed and tainted with lack of transparency.
