SSANU suspends FUNAAB VC, Ogunlewe, governing Council over constitutional breach

Congress of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) chapter yesterday suspended the institution's Vice Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole, the Pro-Chancellor, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe as well as other members of the institution's Governing Council.

The FUNAAB chapter of the SSANU Congress also restricted the duo of the VC and the Pro Vice Chancellor from further exercising their functions as officials of the university forthwith.

Rising from its emergency congress held yesterday at the university's premise, chairman of the FUNAAB chapter of SSANU, Comrade Fasunwon ......who announced the decision of the association said Professor Oyewole has contravened sections 5. 10. 1 (Interdiction) of the FUNAAB's (formerly UNAAB) Senior Staff Rules and Regulations which prohibits him from suspending three staff of the university since himself is presently undergoing criminal investigation under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The executive committee of SSANU FUNAAB under the chairmanship of Fasunwon had called the emergency congress to take a position on three members of the association who were suspended by the VC, Oyewole.

The affected members are SSANU National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Salam Sobbor; former SSANU National Deputy President, Comrade Emmanuel Bankole as well as FUNAAB' former Public Relations Officer, Comrade 'Lasun Somoye.

Professor Oyewole had in the letter of suspension allegedly issued and signed by the university's VC himself, which was read to the congress by Fasunwon, had accused the trio of Sobbor, Bankole and Somoye of "meddlesomeness and confirmatory evidence" in the act prejudicial to the smooth running and governance of the university ".

But taking position on the matter of their members yesterday, the congress resolved that the VC erred in suspending the trio of Sobbor, Bankole and Somoye particularly that they were neither queried, nor made to seat before any disciplinary committee constituted by the university before.

One of the members who moved the motion for the suspension of the VC, Chairman of FUNAAB's Governing Council, Ogunlewe as well as other members of the council, Comrade Jiboku Ayodeji argued that it was abnormal for the VC of a university administration to take such a unilateral decision when himself was still under criminal investigation.

The congress however, ordered Professor Oyewole to vacate office as well as hthe institution's VC residential lodge, while the entire congress members proceeded to the Senate Building where they put the office under lock and key.

*FUNAAB MEDIA TEAM*

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