The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Professor Abayomi Fasina, has gone on six months’ leave. This comes shortly after he was cleared of sexual harassment accusations by the university council.
According to the university’s spokesperson, Foluso Ogunmodede, the council approved Professor Fasina’s request to go on “accumulated annual and research leave” starting Monday, 14 April. The leave will last for 126 working days out of the total 228 days he is entitled to.
In his absence, Professor Olubunmi Shittu, who is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), has been named as Acting Vice-Chancellor. Mr Ogunmodede confirmed that this appointment was approved during an emergency meeting of the council.
There have been rumours in the media that the Vice-Chancellor was suspended after the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, reportedly expressed disappointment with the council’s decision to clear him. But the university denied this claim.
Beyond Boders recalls that the case started when FUOYE’s former Director of Works, Folasade Adebayo, accused Professor Fasina of sexual harassment. She claimed that the Vice-Chancellor kept disturbing her for a romantic relationship, which she refused.
She also shared an audio recording that she said supported her claims.
In response, the university council created a panel in February to investigate the case. After reviewing the findings, the council declared Professor Fasina not guilty.
It also asked Mrs Adebayo to apologise and condemned her for recording the conversation without the Vice-Chancellor’s knowledge.
The council also punished two union leaders, Benjamin Faleye and Ayomikun Aluko, who had earlier spoken out against the Vice-Chancellor. Though their suspensions were lifted, they were told to apologise and return half of the salaries they earned during the suspension.
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Western Zone, rejected the council’s conclusion. In a statement signed by the National Vice President and Chairman of the zone, Abdussobur Salaam, the union said the investigation was not handled fairly.
SSANU also criticised the council for focusing more on how the audio was recorded instead of looking into what was said in the recording. The union called for outside help to review the case properly.
As the matter continues to raise concerns, FUOYE is now under the leadership of an Acting Vice-Chancellor until Professor Fasina returns.
