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ASUU Condemns Ogundipe’s ‘Removal’ As UNILAG Council Names Acting VC
Hours after saying it has removed Oluwatoyin Ogundipe as the vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, the school’s council said it has appointed Theophilus Soyombo in acting capacity.
Crisis brewed on Wednesday when the council resolved at its emergency meeting held in Abuja to sack Mr Ogundipe over allegations of infractions and gross misconduct.
Mr Ogundipe fired back, saying his “purported removal” was a “mischievous disinformation” as “the extant provisions of the law have not been complied with” by the council.
It appears the action of the governing council, however, does not have the backing of the law stablishing the university. The law vests the power to remove a vice-chancellor on the Nigerian president.
By the provision, the president of the country can remove the vice-chancellor “after due consultation with the Council and the Senate acting through the Minister of Education.” But a publicist of the ministry said “the ministry is yet to be briefed.”
Asked the provision it followed to remove the VC, a member of the council who does not want to be named because he was not cleared to speak with the press on the matter, cited section 18 of the university law.
But checks by this newspaper on the said section talks about how the deputy vice-chancellor can be removed, not the vice-chancellor.
But the council in a statement Thursday maintained it acted lawfully and its decision to remove Mr Ogundipe stands, announcing Theophilus Soyombo as the interim head.
“I also wish to use the opportunity to inform members of the public that Council at the said meeting duly appointed Professor of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos as Vice Chancellor of the University in an Acting Capacity,” the university’s registrar and council secretary, Oladejo Azeez, said in a release.
“Members of the public are hereby advised to totally disregard the statement attributed to the said former Vice Chancellor. The position remains that he was lawfully removed by the Governing Council at a meeting fully attended by all Council members,” he added.
The newly appointed acting vice-chancellor, Omololu Soyombo, graduated from the University of Lagos with a B.Sc in Sociology in 1977. Thereafter, he bagged his masters degree in Sociology from the University of Essex, England.
Now a professor of sociology, he teaches the course at the University of Lagos sociology department, where he specializes in, among other areas, the sociology of deviant behaviour in youths.
A member of the Nigerian Anthropological and Sociological Association and member Integrated Transport Initiative, Mr Soyombo is a former managing director of the University of Lagos Consult and former Dean faculty of Social Sciences.
Meanwhile, the UNILAG chapter of Academic Staff Union of Universities has rejected the Mr Soyombo’s appointment, condemning the purported sack of of Mr Ogundipe.
The union’s chairman, Dele Ashiru, insisted Mr Ogundipe remained the union’s recognised head, accusing Mr Babalakin of having vested interest.
“His removal is illegal and uncalled for. Our union condemns in the strongest term the purported removal. It is the machination of the pro-chancellor to destabilise this university and our union has been on the forefront of the agitation against a reckless and lawless pro-chancellor,” Mr Ashiru said.
“We reaffirm our confidence in the leadership of Professor Toyin Ogundipe as Vice Chancellor of the university,” the union’s chairman stressed.
According to the amended universities miscellaneous act of 2003, an an acting “vice-chancellor in all circumstances shall not be in office for more than 6 months.”
Premium Times
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
