The students have been asked to vacate the halls of residence by 12noon on Thursday,  July 15, 2021.

A statement released by the Information Unit of the university noted that students who tested positive to the virus recently have been sent to health facilities while contact tracing was in progress.

The statement reads: “The University of Lagos commenced physical classes at the end of May 2021 when the positivity rate of the COVID-19 infection dropped to about one per cent.

“The University Management continued to enforce the COVID-19 protocols in all the teaching and learning spaces as well as the student halls of residence.

“In addition, the COVID-19 vaccination was made available to the staff and students through the support of the Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council. Lately, some students have tested positive. These students have been sent to the appropriate designated facilities in the State and contact-tracing has enabled us to identify those who have had exposure and directed them to isolate.

“The situation is, indeed, worrisome especially noting the reluctance of the majority of students to comply with the COVID-19 prevention protocols.

“To avoid the escalation of cases on campus, the University Senate at an emergency meeting held on Wednesday, 14th of July 2021 approved that all students vacate the halls of residence by 12.00pm on Thursday indefinitely. Lectures for the rest of the semester will continue to be delivered virtually with effect from 26th July 2021.”

In the suit, marked NICN/LA/283/2020, the UNILAG Senate had kicked against Ogundipe’s sacking by the university’s Governing Council and his replacement with Prof. Theophilus Soyombo, as acting VC.

The defendants in the suit were the varsity’s Governing Council, it’s now suspended Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), the Registrar, Mr. Oladejo Azeez, Soyomo and Ogundipe.

The Senate had sought a court declaration that Ogundipe’s purported removal by the Governing Council vide an August 12, 2020 letter, was not procedural and was null and void.

The Senate had also prayed the court to restrain Soyombo from parading himself as UNILAG acting VC.

However, the Senate, through its counsel, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), filed an application on Monday to discontinue the suit.

Osipitan told our correspondent that the decision to withdraw the suit followed the latest developments.

The President had on Friday suspended both Babalakin and Ogundipe and reversed Soyombo’s appointment as acting VC.

The varsity Senate on Monday also elected Prof. Folasade Ogunsola as acting VC.

Professor Folasade Ogunsola emerged the acting VC after securing the highest number of votes in the election held by members of the University of Lagos Senate to choose an acting Vice-Chancellor.

She was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development Services at UNILAG before her emergence.

She vied for the position alongside another Deputy Vice-Chancellors from Management Services.

Out of the 167 senate members who voted at the exercise, 135 voted for DVC Development Services while DVC Management Services got 31 votes, one voided vote was recorded.

The Senate Emergency Committee Chairman, Professor Chioma Agomo who spoke after the election said due process was followed in electing the new acting VC as directed by the Federal Government.

This election follows the Federal Government’s directive that the University’s Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Wale Babalakin, and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, recuse themselves from official duties, pending the outcome of the panel set up by President Muhammadu Buhari.

FG had also asked UNILAG Senate to reconvene to appoint an acting VC.

According to a Wiki citation, Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola was born in 1958. She is a professor of medical microbiology who specialises in disease control, particularly HIV/AIDS.

Ogunsola was also an ex-provost of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, and is reputed as being the first woman to occupy the position.

She became the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services) of the institution in 2017.

“Her research areas have been centered on the regulation and management of viral diseases, particularly HIV.

“She is the principal investigator at AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria at the University of Lagos.

“She has also been the chairman of the Infection Control Committee of Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Additionally, she is the chairman of the National Association of Colleges of Medicine in Nigeria.

“In 2018, she expressed concern on disease prevention and control in Nigeria. She identified poor hygiene and overuse of antibiotics as practices that foster antimicrobial-drug resistance.

“Providing a solution, she maintained that sustained Infection Prevention and Control infrastructure and programmes should be built around a set of core components which include guidelines, training, surveillance, multimodal strategies for implementing IPC, monitoring and evaluation among others,” the citation added.

While calling on the Governing Council of UNILAG to follow due process in the removal, the organisation said the embattled Ogundipe should be given the opportunity to defend himself.

The committee said the law establishing universities gives the GC the power to hire and fire a Vice Chancellor but not in an arbitrary process.

The UNILAG GC had in a statement by its Registrar and Secretary, Oladejo Azeez entitled: “Notice to the general public on the removal of the Vice Chancellor of UNILAG”, said he was sacked “based on the investigation of serious acts of wrongdoing, gross misconduct, financial recklessness and abuse of office.”

But the Secretary-General of CVCUN, Prof. Yakubu Aboki Ochefu, told journalists in Abuja on Friday that the abrupt sacking of Ogundipe did not follow due process.

Speaking on the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor, the CVC Secretary-General, said the appointment will pose another problem to the university.

He explained that the extant laws of the University states that if a Vice-Chancellor is removed, one of the deputies should be appointed to act.

The CVCUN scribe said, “The council has gone ahead to announce a new VC; the extant laws state that one of his Deputies should be appointed to act, UNILAG has three Deputy Vice-Chancellors, none of them was appointed as the acting VC and somebody else entirely was appointed.

“This is going to pose another problem because the Senate will not allow such a person to chair their meeting because they don’t know him within the context of laws establishing Universities.”

On the GC’s position and the Vice Chancellor’s claims, Ocheku said the situation presently favoured the University Senate which is seeking procedural process.

“It is a funny situation, the VC is saying, ‘yes you have the power to remove me, but you have to do it properly; as far as I am concern as you have not remove me’, the GC is saying, ‘we have removed you.”

Ochefu decried the situation describing it as unhealthy for a University of such calibre or any other University in Nigeria.

The Senate also kicked against the removal of Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe as Vice-Chancellor of the institution by the Governing Council.

Recall that Wale Babalakin, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council, announced their decision-making on Wednesday in Abuja to remove Ogundipe as VC of UNILAG, accusing him of gross misconduct and acts of corruption.

According to reports, a meeting was held on Thursday by 88 members and anchored by Prof Chioma Ago, a former Dean of the Faculty of Law, the institution’s Senate said the removal of Ogundipe was against UNILAG’s regulation, adding that the Council removed Ogundipe without giving him the opportunity to defend himself.

“Part of the condition for the removal of a Vice Chancellor is that a joint committee of the Senate and Governing Council must sit and investigate with three representatives from each side but the Senate was never represented, the Senate was never consulted, the Senate never knew the allegations against their member”.

“The removal of Prof Ogundipe did not follow the Act establishing the university. He was not given fair hearing and the opportunity to defend himself”.

“The Senate therefore rejects the removal of Prof Ogundipe and the appointment of an Acting VC,” a member, who attended the meeting, told SaharaReporters”.