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Buhari’s Decision to Reinstate Ogundipe As UNILAG VC is Wrong, Visitation Panel Chair Voices Out
The chairperson of the federal government’s special Visitation Panel to probe the leadership crisis at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has faulted the government’s decision to reinstate the embattled vice chancellor of the university, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe.
The Ministry of Education on Wednesday announced the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to reinstate Mr Ogundipe who was controversially sacked by the governing council of the university.
Tukur Saad, a professor of architecture at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, who was appointed to head the panel in August, in different correspondences to the Chief of Staff to the president, Ibrahim Gambari, and the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, cast doubts on the integrity of the report.
Expressing reservation about the decision to reinstate Mr Ogundipe, the panel’s chairperson, said “The recommendation that the VC should be reinstated was limited to the procedure of his termination. It did not mean he should be absolved of all wrong doing.”
He said the report of the panel was one-sided because majority of the members were biased towards Mr Ogundipe and the Terms of Reference (ToR) were also skewed against the estranged chairperson of the governing council, Wale Babalakin, who had since resigned from the position.
Mr Saad said although Mr Ogundipe, a professor, was wrongly removed, he was not given a clean bill of health as he was indicted in some wrongdoings, including contract splitting.
The panel chairperson also accused Mr Babalakin of “committing hara-kiri” by removing the VC and appointing another one, and by his decision to step down from his position when the crisis got messy.
Mr Saad said he was cajoled into signing the report with the understanding that the content would be subjected to review by the Chancellor of the University, the Shehu of Borno.
The panel chairperson said he agreed to sign the report to abort another stalemate and in order to save the government from embarrassment but regretted that he had now been “stabbed on the back” by people he trusted.
“As Chairman, I didn’t want to sign the Final Report but I felt that would be a slap on the face of the government and it would generate so much bad publicity in the public domain, that I would rather sign on the understanding that the matter would be referred to the Shehu of Borno as the Chancellor,” he wrote to Mr Gambari.
‘Stabbed in the back’
The professor of architecture said he felt betrayed by the conclusion reached by government after he was made to believe in a different course of action.
He said because of a number of anomalies in the administrative processes and sensitivity of the matter, “Final recommendation of the panel was that the matter should be referred back to the Chancellor, irrespective of what the panel recommended.”
“As it stands now I feel I was made a fool of and stabbed on the back by people I trusted.”
Drawing attention to some of the recommendations contained in the report submitted by the committee, Mr Saad said it will be impossible for any Council to manage a university in this country, if the recommendations of the panel are implemented in a White Paper.
He complained that “A White Paper based on the report submitted by the panel and neglecting the final recommendation of referring will raise many questions.”
‘Skewed report’
Mr Saad had in a letter to Mr Adamu, dated October 7, 2020 and titled ‘Re: Submission of Report of The Visitation Panel on University of Lagos Crisis to Honourable Minister’, drawn attention to a number of instances where he said the report was skewed to favour Mr Ogundipe.
“When you read the Report you will notice that it was very one-sided, so to speak, the option was for the Chairman to refuse to sign the report and that would have been a slap on the Government’s face. In any case, the issue is not that the report was false but it contained half truth in order to protect one party and magnified the facts from the other party by pushing the blame to one side, omitting what could have balanced the report.”
Pointing out the finding and recommendation on allegations of contract splitting against Mr Ogundipe, Mr Saad informed Mr Adamu that what was in the report did not represent the findings and position of the panel on the matter.
“Take the issue of splitting contracts so that the figures would be within his approval limits; in the renovation of his house and that of some Principal officers the evidence was clear, one Contractor would be given four contracts on the same project on the same day each packaged to be within VCs approval limit.
“A number of such cases were evident, but the only way the Chairman could get that in the report was to compromise by rendering such as “Contracts were packaged in a way that bordered on contract splitting, in order to keep them within approval limits.
“The recommendation was that the VC should be cautioned against contract splitting. To me this was enough for Government to reject this recommendation and subject the culprit to the consequences.”
Premium Times
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has expressed deep shock and sadness over the killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba by terrorists.
This was released through his official X page on Monday.
Criticizing the military hierarchy for failing to provide a clear explanation of the incident, he noted that initial official statements had reportedly denied the circumstances surrounding the general’s death.
He further described the tragedy as “unequivocally a failure of political leadership.”
Atiku accused President Bola Tinubu of prioritizing political battles over his responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
He called Gen. Musa’s death, along with those of the troops under his command, “one death too many” and warned of the dangers of a resurgent terrorist threat.
He as well urged citizens and military personnel to remain resilient, saying, “Even this season shall pass away.”
In addition, he also directed a pointed message to the President, stating that the security of Nigerians is the government’s foremost responsibility.
“You must live up to it or be humble enough to admit incompetence and either ask for help or resign,” he added.
He suggested that, if he were President, he would order the military to occupy Borno State or any other areas under siege by bandits or armed groups until they are cleared, emphasizing the need to protect those risking their lives for national security.
He extended his condolences to the Nigerian Armed Forces, the family of the deceased, and all Nigerians, expressing hope that the nation would soon overcome this dark period.
The Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup dream suffered a major blow on Sunday as DR Congo advanced to the intercontinental playoff following a dramatic penalty shootout at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying ended in heartbreaking fashion, marking the second consecutive year the Super Eagles will miss out on the world stage.
The match ended 1–1 after 120 minutes of regulation and extra time, sending the high-stakes encounter to penalties.
Nigeria initially went ahead through Frank Onyeka in the third minute, but DR Congo equalised in the 32nd minute through M. Elia.
The tension continued into the penalty shootout.
Nigeria’s Calvin Bassey and Moses Simon missed early chances, while Nwabali denied DR Congo’s first penalty.
Akor Adams kept the Super Eagles alive, but DR Congo struck back through Sadique and later scored the decisive fourth penalty, leaving Nigeria trailing 4–3 in the shootout.
The victory sets up DR Congo for a chance to secure one of the final World Cup tickets to the expanded 48-team tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Nigeria’s defeat marked the second consecutive year the Super Eagles will miss out on the world stage.
Both teams had earned their places in the final after dramatic semi-finals.
Nigeria had booked their place in the final with a dramatic 4–1 extra-time win over Gabon in Thursday’s semi-final at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium.
DR Congo also advanced with a 1–0 victory over Cameroon at the Al Barid Stadium the same evening.
The Leopards now await their intercontinental playoff opponent, keeping alive their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup, while the Super Eagles’ campaign comes to an agonising end in Rabat.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expelled Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, its suspended National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose.
Their expulsion was announced on Saturday at the party’s National Convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.
