By Idowu Adebomi, Ado Ekiti
The national leadership of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has called on the Federal Government to immediately sack Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina as Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State.
The union said it has become “tired of his leadership” and demanded his removal to restore industrial harmony and peace in the state.
This call was made at a press conference held in Ado-Ekiti by SSANU chairmen from Ekiti State University (EKSU), Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology (BOUESTI), and Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) branches on Monday night.
Speaking on behalf of the SSANU National President, Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, the Special Assistant to the President and EKSU SSANU Chairman, Comrade Temidayo Azeez Aguda, accused Professor Fasina of ordering the arrest and detention of six FUOYE SSANU officials including the branch chairman, secretary, and a nursing mother over what he described as a “frivolous petition.”
According to Comrade Aguda, “Comrade Faleye Benjamin, the FUOYE SSANU Chairman, was stripped naked by police officers acting on the Vice-Chancellor’s orders. Professor Fasina is determined to destabilize industrial relations within FUOYE and, by extension, create unrest in Ekiti State.”
He further alleged that the Vice-Chancellor’s actions were politically motivated, saying: “Fasina wants to turn Ekiti State into a theatre of conflict to discredit the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji and disrupt the forthcoming governorship election. We therefore call on the Federal Government and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to urgently relieve him of his duties before his actions plunge the state into chaos.”
Comrade Aguda also revealed that the intervention of Governor Oyebanji was instrumental in securing the release of the detained SSANU officials.
He was joined at the press briefing by the BOUESTI SSANU Chairman, Comrade Tope Babalola, and other union leaders who expressed solidarity with their detained colleagues.
Over thirty SSANU members from the three institutions attended the briefing, chanting solidarity songs and demanding the removal of Professor Fasina from FUOYE.