The Senate of the University of Lagos has elected for the first time in the history of the institution, a woman, Professor Folasade Ogunsola as Acting Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Ogunsola, until the election, was Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Development Services.
She polled 135 votes as against 31 by Professor Ben Oghojafor to emerge winner.
Ogunsola is a Professor of Medical Microbiology and specializes in disease control, particularly HIV/AIDS.
She is also the immediate past Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos.
Unilag was thrown into crisis after the Wale Babalakin-led Governing Council sacked the Vice Chancellor, Professor Ogundipe, for financial recklessness and misconduct.
The removal came with a barrage of condemnations from the university’s senate, the Alumni, the Local and National Bodies of ASUU, who accused Babalakin’s council of not following due process.
Babalakin had appeared on several media, justifying his action.
But, the embattled Vice Chancellor, Professor Ogundipe had already started moves to challenge his removal in court, before the intervention of the president, who directed him and Babalakin to recuse themselves from the university and return to status quo.
The president also set up a Visitation Panel to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the crisis.
The Senior Staff Assocaatlon of Nigerian Universities, SSANU in a statement signed by its president, Samson Ugwoke has picked holes in the visitation panel set up by the president, saying it did not follow due process and have a further tendency to fuel the crisis.
SSANU argues that the special visitation panel is composed mainly of members of the academic staff union of universities, ASUU, which will protect their own, the embattled vice chancellor.
The are calling for the inclusion of a retired bursary and a former pro-chancellor as chairman.
On the directive recusing the Pro-Chancellor, Wale Babalakin, SSANU argues that the Visitor perceived Babalakin as part of the problem of the University of Lagos, stating that the decision to remove Professor Ogundipe was a council decision and not Babalakin and that It would have been fairer if the Visitor had directed the entity to recuse itself from official duties until the end of the panel’s investigation.
SSANU said, while it is not unconcerned about the principles of natural justice, fair hearing and due process in the removal of Professor Ogundipe as Vice- Chancellor of the University of Lagos, it is equally worried that the underlying allegations of fraud and corrupt practices seem to be lost, due to technicalities.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
