University of Lagos crisis deepens as council sacks Vice Chancellor

The University of Lagos (UNILAG)’s governing council has sacked the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olawatoyin Ogundipe.

This was announced at a meeting of the Governing Council of UNILAG held at the National Universities Commission in Abuja.

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The meeting was chaired by the university’s Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of its Governing Council, Dr. Wale Babalakin.

In a statement, signed by Oladejo Azeez, Registrar and Secretary to the council, after the meeting, the council said the removal is with immediate effect.

It said the decision was based on Council’s investigation of “serious acts of wrongdoings, gross misconduct, financial recklessness and abuse of office against Professor Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS.”

His removal, according to the statement, was in accordance with the statutory powers vested in the council by the law.

In a swift reaction, the embattled VC described his purported removal as an illegality that cannot stand as it is in clear violation of the University of Lagos Act as amended by the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2003.

Ogundipe, in a statement he personally signed, advised members of the University community and the general public to disregard the information, stressing that he remained the Vice-Chancellor of University of Lagos.

The University has been enmeshed in leadership and union crises.

It would be recalled that the Governing Council, led by Dr. Wale Babalakin, filed a petition alleging that there were some infractions in the award of contracts which include the on-going library project, among others.

Also, the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU), UNILAG chapter in March, 2020, passed a vote of no confidence on Babalakin, saying he was a persona non grata on the campus.

The Union chairman, Dele Ashiru, maintained that the vote of no confidence was passed on Babalakin on account of his alleged cancellation of the University’s 51st convocation ceremonies.

The union also threatened a showdown with Babalakin, should he show up on campus for the council meeting earlier slated for July 15 and 17, 2020.

A month after, the proposed meeting was postponed indefinitely, an emergency meeting of the council was fixed for August 12-14, 2020, moving the meeting from its usual venue, the governing council chamber at the University main campus, to the National Universities Commission (NUC) Conference Hall in Abuja.