The Southwest zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has accused the management of the Lagos State University (LASU) of impunity in witch hunting leaders of the Institution’s chapter of the union.
Three ASUU-LASU leaders have been queried by the University following a letter they wrote to the Governing Council requesting an investigation into the backdating of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Lanre Fagbohun’s promotion to the professorship cadre.
Dr Alex Odigi, Coordinator of Akure zone of ASUU, said on Thursday during a Congress at LASU that the university was violating its laws by questioning the union leaders.
He said: “We want the public to know that charges have been brought up against three executives.
“The executives in question are Dr Tony Dansu, Secretary, Dr Adeolu Oyekan , Asst. Secretary and Dr Kemi Abodunrin Shonibare, Treasurer.
“It is not news to us that the university sometime ago unjustly dismissed our colleagues, the chairperson and the vice chair person of our branch
“They have began another systematic process in which they intend to also dismiss the secretary, assistant secretary, treasurer of the branch, all under the cover of the trump up charge of having collected a classified document and released or publicly issued out. I don’t know where they are making their own rules from. There are some things that if they want to do they have to look at the law of the states and federation before they can embark on it.
In a letter dated June 1, 2018, and signed by Dansu and Oyekan, the ASUU-LASU had prayed the Council to investigate whether or not the university’s former Registrar, Mr Akinwunmi Lewis, had done wrong in backdating Fagbohun’s promotion approved on May 7, 2014 to October 1, 2008 without which he (Fagbohun) could have been qualified to run for the office.
The union leaders attached documents that listed the Council members that approved the promotion of Fagbohun and nine others on May 7, 2014, as well as the letter of promotion that Lewis wrote to Fagbohun on August 24, 2014 backdating his promotion to October 1, 2008.
In the letter, they questioned why the Registrar made the decision without evidence that the Council directed him to do so.
“To the best of our knowledge, there was no other meeting of the Governing Council where the promotion was notionally backdated to October 1, 2008 between May 7, 2014 and the day the then Registrar sent the letter of promotion to Dr Olanrewaju Fagbohun or thereafter,” the letter read.
Fagbohun was appointed vice-Chancellor in 2015.
Though the Council is still investigating ASUU’s allegations, the management of the University has asked Dansu, Oyekan and, Abodunrin to explain how they got access to the confidential documents containing the Councik’s decision and details of the backdating.
The Director, Centre for Information and Public Relations, Mr Ademola Adekoya, said in a phone interview that the university’s laws penalises the unauthorised release of confidential documents.
“The document is confidential; where did they get it? The illegality must be corrected first. Any attempt to check somebody’s file is misconduct. It is there in the condition of service that if you do this, there is a sanction for it,” he said.
Adekoya added that it was wrong for ASUU to jump into conclusion based on the letter, which he said did not tell the whole story as there were other documents they were not privy to that empowered the former Registrar to backdate Fagbohun’s promotion.
He also said Fagbohun had contested the date of his promotion with the Council which agreed to backdate it.
“The Registrar was acting on the records available to him; he did not commit any crime.Moreover, they have written to the Council, they should wait for the outcome. A joint committee of the Council and Senate is looking into the matter and afterwards, Council will take a decision,” he said.
