The crisis rocking the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) took a dramatic turn on Saturday, as the university students union body wrote the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disowning a petition earlier written by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to the minister.
The NANS leadership had petitioned the Mr Alausa alleging a cover-up of official misconducts and other alleged infractions against the management and Governing Council of FUOYE.
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It also asked the minister to sack the university Vice Chancellor, Abayomi Fasina, a professor, and the governing council members within 72 hours.
However, in the letter signed by its President, Abiodun Mary, and Secretary General, Lateef Ife, the FUOYE Students Union Government, accused the NANS leadership of acting under external influence.
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The letter titled : “RE: Formal Disclaimer and Refutation of the NANS Petition Against the Vice Chancellor and Governing Council of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, the union said the allegations contained in the said petition neither reflect the realities within the university nor the collective sentiment of the student population.
“We have the honour to write to you in our capacity as the duly elected leadership of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), representing the collective voice and interest of the student body across all campuses of our institution.
“It is with a profound sense of responsibility and commitment to truth that we hereby categorically dissociate ourselves from, and formally refute, the contents of the petition recently submitted to your esteemed office by one Comrade Olushola Oladoja, National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
“We wish to state, unequivocally and without prejudice, that the allegations contained in the said petition neither reflect the lived realities within our university nor the collective sentiment of the student population. As the local union with firsthand experience of institutional engagements and administrative developments, we find the petition to be highly misleading, politically coloured, and grossly unrepresentative of actual events and dynamics within FUOYE.
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“It is apparent that the current leadership of NANS has, regrettably, allowed itself to become entangled in external manipulations, resulting in the dissemination of unfounded accusations targeting the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, and the broader university administration.
“We view this as a deliberate attempt to malign the leadership of our institution and to destabilise the ongoing progress achieved under their stewardship,” the letter said.
The SUG maintained that allegation of sexual harassment involving one Folashade Adebayo and the vice chancellor has been thoroughly investigated by both the police and a duly constituted panel of the governing council.
“In both cases, Professor Fasina was exonerated of all allegations, and the findings remain in the public domain. As student representatives, we have reviewed the reports and affirm our confidence in the integrity and transparency of the investigative processes,” the SUG stated.
The union also dismissed other issues raised in the NANS petition and urged the minister to disregard the petition submitted by the NANS leadership, as it is devoid of credibility, factual merit, and legitimate representation.
The SUG urged Mr Alausa to recognise it (SUG) as the authentic and democratically elected voice of the student body of the institution and uphold the findings of the governing council’s investigative panel as the legitimate basis for decision-making on all matters.
