The Ministry of Education’s Director Press and Public Relations, Ben-Bem Goong, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement was titled, ‘Re: Report of special visitation panel to UNILAG’.

It read in part, “President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Visitor to the University of Lagos has approved the Report of the Special Visitation Panel to the University of Lagos.

“The highlights of the findings and recommendations approved by Mr. President are as follows – the removal of Professor Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe as the Vice Chancellor did not follow due process.

“The Vice Chancellor was not granted an opportunity to defend himself on the allegations upon which his removal was based. He should accordingly be re-instated.

“All allegations made against the Vice Chancellor and the management of the University before and after the Constitution of the Special Visitation Panel should be referred to regular Visitation Panel for thorough investigation and necessary recommendations.

“The process adopted by the Council in the appointment of Professor Omololu Soyombo as Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University was inconsistent with the provisions of the Law relating to the appointment of an Acting Vice-Chancellor.

“The Governing Council should be dissolved.

“Mr. President after careful review of the report has approved all the recommendations of the Panel.

‘Accordingly, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe is hereby reinstated as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos.

“The Governing Council of the University of Lagos Chaired by Dr. B. O. Babalakin is hereby dissolved. Mr. President hopes these steps will bring peace, stability, focus and direction to the University.”

But the four staff unions at Lagos State University, Ojo has reportedly locked out their Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagboun​, and students as the university resumes today.

The unions involved in the protest are the Academic Staff Union of Universities, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Non-Academic Staff Union, and the National Association of Academic Technologists.

It was gathered that members of the unions stood at the gate as early as 7am preventing members of staff from gaining entry into the University.

They were protesting​ non-payment of the salary increment promised them by the Lagos State Government over a year ago.

They claimed​ other Lagos State workers had received the increment but all the tertiary institutions in Lagos State were yet to be included.

The VC of the Institute attempted to appeal to the unions but they didn’t oblige him. 

It was gathered that the protest by the unions is holding across tertiary institutions in Lagos State, The PUNCH reports.

She emerged top after a rigorous screening exercise involving 12 other candidates.

Obi will take over from Prof. Zana Akpagu, whose tenure ends on November 30, 2020.

Announcing Obi’s victory and emergence on Friday, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council, UNICAL, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, congratulated her for emerging the first female Vice-Chancellor of the 45-year-old institution.

In the congratulatory message, Nwaogu described Obi as “an astute educational icon” and prayed for the success of her tenure as Vice-Chancellor of UNICAL.

“You can see the tranquility in this governing council. What we assured the university community is that we were going to be transparent, open, fair, and just.

“There is a guideline from the Ministry of Education as to how to conduct interview for the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor. There are so many parameters we had to look into and that is exactly what we did,” she said.

She said Obi’s emergence is a victory for the women and said the 10th Governing Council expects her to build on what the outgoing Vice-Chancellor had done.

“What I expect from her is to look at what the outgoing Vice-Chancellor has done, governance is a continuum, start from where he has stopped and ensure there is integration even amongst all the people that contested with her,” Nwaogu said.

Also speaking, Obi promised to run an inclusive administration, adding, “I’m happy and return all the glory to God. I have just received my appointment letter from the 12th Council as Vice Chancellor-elect. The process was free and fair, and I promise to run an inclusive administration.”

Obi was a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, and former Commissioner for Women Affairs in Cross River State.

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.

Academic and non-academic staff of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, made this call, stating that the Chairman of the Council, Dr Wale Babalakin, SAN, is acting contrary to the dictates of his office and working against the progress of the citadel of learning.

This follows the removal of the institute’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe and appointment of a new acting VC, Prof Omololu Soyombo.

The workers, speaking through Dr. Dele Ashiru of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), under the aegis of the Joint Staff Union, JSU, made this demand at a Congress they held on the campus on Thursday, August 13.

The workers also said that there was no room for any surrogate acting Vice-Chancellor in the institution.

The worker unions are the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, the Non-Academic Staff Union, NASU, and the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT.

The workers said the bad precedence that the Council tried to set should not be allowed to remain and that the country was not the Banana Republic.

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”.

It was gathered that the joint meeting is holding after leadership of the unions had met separately.

As of 11.30am, the meeting was ongoing at the Council Chamber Foyer of the university.

During the meeting, the leaders of the unions took turns to address the workers.

It was also gathered that an emergency Senate meeting held on Thursday morning in the university.

“We will communicate the outcome of our meeting officially. I don’t want to be the one to divulge the outcome of the meeting,” a member of the Senate told our correspondent.

The lingering faceoff between Ogundipe and the Chairman, Governing Council of the institution, Dr Wale Babalakin, worsened on Wednesday as the council announced the removal of Ogundipe from office .

Ogundipe’s removal was contained in a statement by the Registrar of the institution, Oladejo Azeez.

The announcement came after a meeting it reportedly held in Abuja.

It was gathered that 12 members of the council were present at the meeting and seven voted for Ogundipe’s removal, four voted against it and one voted that he be placed on suspension

But Ogundipe had described his “purported removal” from office as untrue and illegal.

Ogundipe said this in a statement he issued on Wednesday in Lagos.

”The attention of the University of Lagos Management has been drawn to a notice to the general public on the removal of the Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, dated Aug. 12 and signed by Oladejo Azeez, Esq, Registrar and Secretary to council.

”It states that the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has been removed from office with immediate effect.

”The purported removal is an illegality and cannot stand as it is in clear violation of the University of Lagos Act as amended by the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act, 2003.

”Therefore, members of the University of Lagos community and the general public are advised to disregard the information as contained in the notice.

”Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe remains the Vice-Chancellor of University of Lagos,” he said.

Details later…

The Ministry, however, reaffirmed that the council has the power to hire and fire, but that due process must be followed in doing so.

This was disclosed in a statement by the spokesperson of the FMoE, Ben Goong in Abuja on Wednesday.

It reads: “My dear colleagues, the Federal Ministry of Education wishes to state that it is yet to be briefed on the developments at the University of Lagos regarding the purported removal of the VC.

“While the Ministry awaits for the proper briefing from the university authorities, it is important to reaffirm that council has the power to hire and fire but that due process must be followed in doing so.”

Recall that the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mr. Oladejo Azeez, in a statement titled: Notice to the General Public on the removal of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, announced Ogundipe’s ‘removal’ from office.

The council based the decision on gross misconduct, financial recklessness among others.

But the embattled Vice Chancellor in a statement insisted he remained in office, stating his purported removal was a figment of imagination and false.

Ogundipe in a statement following the Registrar’s announcement of the Governing Council’s decision to remove him said his removal from office was false and merely a figment of the Registrar’s imagination.

The statement titled: “Notice to the General Public on the Removal of the Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos by Oladejo Azeez, Esq” reads:

“The attention of the University of Lagos (Unilag) management has been drawn to the ‘Notice to the General Public on the Removal of the Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos’; dated August 12, 2020 and signed by Oladejo Azeez, Esq, Registrar and Secretary to Council, stating that the current Vice Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS has been removed from office with immediate effect.

“This is untrue and a figment of his imagination. Therefore, stakeholders of UNILAG and the general public are advised to disregard this mischievous disinformation about the sitting Vice Chancellor of Unilag, contained in that notice. Professor Ogundipe still remains UNILAG’s Vice Chancellor.