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Why Termination Of Registrar's Appointment Was Not A Witch-hunt, Oye-Ekiti Varsity Vice-Chancellor

The Vice-Chancellor made this known through his Special Adviser on Media Matters, Mr Wole Balogun in a statement released on Sunday, May 2.

The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina, has refuted the claim by a former Registrar of the university, Mr. Olatunbosun Odusanya that he was responsible for the termination of his appointment.

The Vice-Chancellor made this known through his Special Adviser on Media Matters, Mr Wole Balogun in a statement released on Sunday, May 2. 

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Prof. Fasina disclosed that the termination of the former Registrar's appointment was done by the FUOYE Governing Council headed by Dr. Mohammad Yahuza and not him. He said the former Registrar should stop misleading the public. 

Mr. Odusanya had recently alleged that his sacking was personal and done by Fasina.

“My fear is that if this kind of thing is allowed to just go away like that, it shows that FUOYE is in serious trouble. Ideally, this is an offence I did not commit; it is not my responsibility to employ, it is my responsibility to carry out the directives of the chief executive. 

"If Prof. Fasina could manoeuvre his way to remove the names of registrar within 10 days, I don’t know what is likely going to be the state or future of all staff in FUOYE," he had said. 
The Council headed by Dr Mohammed Yahuza had on April 20, 2021 suspended Odusanya from office to pave the way for investigation into allegations of misconduct levelled against him over irregularities in appointments between 1st August, 2020 and 10th February, 2021.

According to Mr Balogun, the Governing Council of the University on April 27, 2021, terminated the appointment in strict compliance with the university regulations regarding staff discipline and teminatiom of employment.

"However, rather than show remorse for his misconduct, the sacked Registrar has resorted to cheap blackmail and assault on the person of Vice-Chancellor," he said. 

Fasina, however, said he decided to respond to the unfounded allegations against his person just to set the records straight. 

He described Odusanya's claims as "the antics of a drowning man." 

The VC said he has no axe to grind with anybody, urging the dismissed Registrar to channel his energies into productive ventures. 
"There is clearly no case of personal vendetta or witch-hunt here. And that is for several reasons. 
"First, Odusanya and l have been friends for several years and we will remain friends. I had worked very harmoniously with him for over five years. When he was the University's Director of Administration and Special Duties, we had very harmonious working relationship. His former principal and my own former boss, Prof. Kayode Soremekun, remains my friend and brother. The three of us worked together for the tremendous success recorded during the years of Prof. Soremekun as the VC of FUOYE. I was then the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, and we had a very cordial and fruitful working relationship. 

"When I became the VC, l had also maintained that cordiality and spirit of brotherhood so there is clearly nothing personal about the development.

"What happened to Odusanya leading to the termination of his appointment was simply a clear case of gross misconduct that borders on his flagrant violation of the rules and regulations of the university regarding recruitment of staff. 
"The authority that found him wanting is the Governing Council of the university ably chaired by Dr. Mohammed Yahuza. The Governing Council is above me as the highest authority of the university. It was the Council that constituted the probe panel that investigated Odusanya's misconduct. He was duly queried and given a right of reply. He replied the query and the University Disciplinary Committee found his reply not tenable enough to exculpate him of the misconduct. He was duly found culpable and punished. So, how does that become personal vendetta or witch-hunt from me?

"Attributing the consequences of his inactions to vendetta against him from me, clearly amounts to character assassination and defamation on his part against my person. I advise him to desist from such unneccesary and fruitless voyage."

A source told SaharaReporters: "I don't know what he meant by that, but the fact that he was sacked by the governing council means it was beyond the VC. The decision was made unanimously by the council after they studied the report from the committee that was set up. 

"Out of 11 members that made up of the council, he could not even get one defending vote. The council chairman is the type that always force all members to participate and contribute to every issue raised. 

"The only little debate the council had was in term of penalty to be giving to him, because the committee recommended dismissal for the Registrar, according to the regulations and acts on which the university was established.

"His offences fall under serious misconduct, and the penalty for such is dismissal. But unanimously, the council decided to have mercy on him by terminating his appointment instead of the proposed dismissal, to safe his future opportunities. Obviously, Odusanya is fighting the council indirectly and not the VC."