The Special Assistant (Press) to the Senate President, Dr Ezrel Tabiowo, revealed this in a press statement on Tuesday.

The said bill sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, (representing Delta Central District), was duly passed by the Red Chamber on the 7th of July, 2020, and aims to checkmate the scourge of sexual harassment of students by randy lecturers within the academia.

Following the announcement of the membership of the conference committee at the start of plenary proceedings by the senate president, the committee is expected to liase with their counterparts in the lower house, to harmonise the two versions of the bill passed by both chambers.

The committee is headed by Senator Micheal Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) as the Chairman.

Other members of the committee include: Senators Betty Apiafi, Stella Oduah, Abubakar Kyari, Suleiman Umar, Suleiman Abdu Kwari, and Kola Balogun.

NAN reports that the university’s Principal Assistant Registrar for Communication, Mrs Taiwo Oloyede, in a statement said that the move “is in continuation of the institution’s unrelenting campaign against the menace of sexual harassment and other forms of inappropriate behaviours.”

The statement read in part, “The task force has the mandate to examine the extant University of Lagos policy on sexual harassment, receive complaints from faculties, departments and other units concerning matters that border on sexual harassment.

“It is to also receive oral and written testimonies from staff and students involved in cases of sexual harassment and recommend appropriate sanction for offenders.

“The task force, in addition to other functions, will put forward counselling and other therapies for mitigating the adverse effects of sexual harassment on victims and carry out other duties aimed at eradicating the ugly trend from the institution.’’

Oloyede reiterated the institution’s commitment to stamping out the menace of sexual harassment and related offences from its campuses.

She noted that the university “would spare no effort in ensuring that it remained a foremost citadel of learning and promoting excellence in character.’’