Staff reject candidates shortlisted for Ogun College Provost

The Staff of the Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Science and Technology (SACOETEC), Omu-Ajose, Ogun State, have rejected two candidates shortlisted for the position of Provost in the institution.

In an open letter addressed to the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, the concerned staff expressed disappointment and frustration over what they described as a “flagrant disregard” for the stipulated criteria in the recruitment process.

According to the letter, two applicants, Prof. Muyiwa Adeyemi from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) and Dr. Sunday Adegbesan from the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Ondo State, were shortlisted for the position.

The workers argued that none of the candidates met the qualifications outlined in the advertorial published on July 19, 2024.

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According to them, the advertorial explicitly stated that the next Provost must be a Chief Lecturer from a college of education system.

The staff emphasized that there is no Chief Lecturer cadre in the university or research institute systems, thereby disqualifying both shortlisted candidates from the start.

“It is disheartening and disappointing that these two applicants, who do not meet the basic qualifications as stipulated by the advert, were shortlisted and interviewed,” the letter stated.

“This is a clear disregard for the recruitment criteria and raises serious questions about the integrity of the selection process,” they said.

The staff further argued that the best candidate for the Provost position should be an internal staff member of SACOETEC.

According to them, only an insider, who has experienced the challenges and developments of the institution firsthand, can effectively address the welfare issues that have plagued the college for years.

“Your dream of completely taking SACOETEC out of the woods can only be achieved if our next Provost is an internal staff.

“An internal staff-Provost knows where the pot-holes of outstanding welfare issues of staff exist.

“Hence, solving them completely will not be a problem. Giving us an outsider as our next Provost, for the third time, may further compound the outstanding welfare issues of the College,” the letter said.

The letter also highlighted the history of external appointments in the college, noting that the first Provost, the late Prof. Biodun Ojo, and the outgoing Provost, Dr. Adeola Kiadese, were both outsiders.

The concerned staff urged Governor Abiodun to consider the unique challenges faced by SACOETEC and to appoint an internal candidate who understands the institution’s needs and has a vested interest in its success.