Breaking: LASU dismisses ASUU chairman, 14 others

 Tension befell Lagos State University (LASU),  yesterday as the Chairman of the institution’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Isaac Oyewunmi; his deputy, Dr. Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu, alongside 13 other academic and two non-academic staff were summarily dismissed.

However, two other workers in the university, including one academic staff and one nonacademic, were also demoted from their current ranks to lower positions.

This is as eight of the sacked lecturers are expected to refund the university a total of N53,935,603, being money allegedly accruable to them illegally from the purse of the university.

Though the ongoing ASUU strike had already paralysed academic activities on the campus, some members of the community who were gathered in twos and threes were busy discussing the matter in hushed voices.

There were also security operatives, including the university’s armed regular security men who roamed the campus while policemen manned the university’s entrance gates.

The university, had yesterday in a statement signed by the Acting Head of the Centre for Information, Press and Public Relations (CIPPR), Mr. Ademola Adekoya, announced the dismissal of the workers, citing Section 6 (1) and (2) of the Lagos State University Law 2004 (as amended) as where it derives the power to do so.

According to the statement, the University’s Council, as the governing authority for the ivory tower, derives the power from the quoted sections to exercise general oversight over the Institution and its affairs.

The dismissed workers, according to the university, had committed various offences at one time or the other and had been tried by both the Joint Council / Senate (Academic) Disciplinary Committee and the Joint Council (Administrative and Technical Staff) Disciplinary Committee.

The university accused Oyewunmi, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Human Kinetics, Sports and Health Education, in the Faculty of Education of demanding N50, 000 from 2003 modular year students of Political Science Education on the sandwich programme to process their results.

The statement reads in part; “He was found culpable of attempt to obtain money for himself as an inducement to carry out his duties, and consequently dismissed from the service of the university.”

In a similar development, Oyerwunmi’s deputy, Adeyemi-Suenu, senior lecturer and Acting Head, Department of History and International Studies, Faculty of Arts, was accused of unilaterally altering the results of 12 students, who had already been advised to withdraw by Senate in the 2015/2016 academic session, thereby changing their status from “withdrawn” to “good standing.”

“He also changed the results of some final year students and stragglers outside the scope of the departmental decision and also awarded grade point of 2.0 to two students in an examination from which they were absent.

This is tantamount to manipulation of Students results in contravention of provisions of the conditions and scheme of service for senior staff. He was, therefore, dismissed from the service of the university,” the statement added. Other workers dismissed by the university include Mr. Olatoye Raji, Assistant Lecturer, Department of Religions, (Islamic Studies Unit), Faculty of Arts; Dr. Olugbenro Odofin, Senior Lecturer, Department of Education Foundation and Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education; Dr. Adebowale Ademeso, Senior Lecturer, Department of Theatre Arts and Music, Faculty of Arts; Dr. Scholastica Udegbe, Lecturer 1 Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences; Dr. Olufemi Soyeju, Lecturer ll, Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Faculty of Law. Meanwhile, Soyeju, alongside other lecturers including Dr. Ganiyu Olawale, Senior Lecturer, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science; Mr. Ademola Adesina, Lecturer ll, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science; Dr. Shamisudeen Badmus, Lecturer ll, Department of Accounting, Faculty of Management Sciences; Dr. Christiana Obagbuwa, Lecturer ll, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science; Dr. Emmanuel Asapo, Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemical and Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering; Olubukola Oyeniya, Assistant Research Fellow, Center for Environmental Sciences and Sustainable Development, among other, are said to be indebted to the university to the tune of about B54 million.

They were accused of defaulting the conditions of their training leave bond, and also abandoned their duty posts. While Soyeju is said to owe the university N7,919,972. 84, Olawale allegedly owes N1,622,727.94. The duo, alongside six others are expected to refund the university within the next 28 days.

However, efforts to get the reaction of the affected lecturers proved abortive, as the leadership of the university’s chapter of ASUU was in an extensive meeting as at the time of filing this report.