Category: Education

The faceoff between UNILAG VC, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe and the Governing Council led by Wale Babalakin SAN has come with a new dimension. You will recall that Governing Council in its meeting held on Wednesday 12th of August announced the removal of the Vice Chancellor via a statement released and signed by the Registrar of the University who also doubles as the Secretary to the Council. In the statement, the Governing Council said its decision to remove the VC was based on the investigations bordering on serious wrongdoings, gross misconduct, financial recklessness and abuse of office levelled against the VC.

Meanwhile, the Senate of the University at its emergency meeting held yesterday has rejected the removal of the VC and claimed that the decision of the Governing Council did not follow the laws that guide the University system. The Senate further calls on President Muhammad Buhari being the visitor of the University to dissolve the Governing Council with immediate effect as its purpose and mandate of ensuring peaceful environment in the school has been defeated and failure to dissolve the Council might plunge the University into an unending crisis.

The Governor of Oyo state, Engr. Seyi Makinde has responded to the claims and request made by the students of Oyo state on bursary payment.

Today, in a statement sent to Oduduwa News by the Special Assistant on Students’ Matter, Hon. Victor Olojede. The SA on Students’ Matter made this statement in response to the ultimatum giving by FOSSU to Oyo State Government bordering on their request for bursary support.

Hon. Victor said “We understand that life as a student is not easy and every students’ organisation in Oyo state has put forward its request on several occasion and I want to state it categorically that in a short while the students will hear from us.”

He said ” we had a meeting earlier last month in which palliatives were distributed to the students and we discussed extensively on how to distribute the support fund. Meanwhile, everything in this government is going through due process and all protocols must be followed to the letter in order to achieve the desired results, if you take a good look at the TESCOM recruitment process you’ll see that everything is well planned and articulated and we believe the desired results will be achieved.”

“We are also working with the local government to see that local government councils also pay bursary for the students within their jurisdiction. In the coming weeks, i will be going around to speak with the local council bosses to pay bursary.”

“The government hereby implores the students to remain calm and be patient in their dealings with the government of the day, the Office of the Special Assistant on Students’ Matter to the Governor is always open for consultation whenever the need arises.”

The Federation of Oyo State Students’ Union had earlier today 13th August made a press release giving the government of the state an ultimatum to provide modalities for which it will roll out students’ support funds (busary) in order to support the students of Oyo state in various tertiary institutions.

It will be recalled that at the early day of the assumption of office of Eng. Seyi Makinde as the governor of Oyo state, he pledged to provide support of One Hundred Thousand Naira for students of Oyo state in Law schools which he fulfilled, therefore, there is high belief that the governor will definitely not leave out students in other institutions out of his Goodwill.

The Governor of Oyo state, Engr. Seyi Makinde has responded to the claims and request made by the students of Oyo state on bursary payment.

Today, in a statement sent to Oduduwa News by the Special Assistant on Students’ Matter, Hon. Victor Olojede. The SA on Students’ Matter made this statement in response to the ultimatum giving by FOSSU to Oyo State Government bordering on their request for bursary support.

Hon. Victor said “We understand that life as a student is not easy and every students’ organisation in Oyo state has put forward its request on several occasion and I want to state it categorically that in a short while the students will hear from us.”

He said ” we had a meeting earlier last month in which palliatives were distributed to the students and we discussed extensively on how to distribute the support fund. Meanwhile, everything in this government is going through due process and all protocols must be followed to the letter in order to achieve the desired results, if you take a good look at the TESCOM recruitment process you’ll see that everything is well planned and articulated and we believe the desired results will be achieved.”

“We are also working with the local government to see that local government councils also pay bursary for the students within their jurisdiction. In the coming weeks, i will be going around to speak with the local council bosses to pay bursary.”

“The government hereby implores the students to remain calm and be patient in their dealings with the government of the day, the Office of the Special Assistant on Students’ Matter to the Governor is always open for consultation whenever the need arises.”

The Federation of Oyo State Students’ Union had earlier today 13th August made a press release giving the government of the state an ultimatum to provide modalities for which it will roll out students’ support funds (busary) in order to support the students of Oyo state in various tertiary institutions.

It will be recalled that at the early day of the assumption of office of Eng. Seyi Makinde as the governor of Oyo state, he pledged to provide support of One Hundred Thousand Naira for students of Oyo state in Law schools which he fulfilled, therefore, there is high belief that the governor will definitely not leave out students in other institutions out of his Goodwill.

In a statement jointly signed by the National President, Com. Azeez Muritala Oluwasegun Olowoeko and the National Senate President, Sen. Ajadi Isaac Oluwasegun sent to Oduduwa News today.

The statement reads: “the Federation of Oyo state Students’ union (FOSSU) has given the Oyo state Government 14-day ultimatum to announce the modalities for which Oyo state Students’ bursary will be paid.”

This statement was made available to the media after the joint Executive and Senate Principal Officials’ meeting.

The FOSSU National President, Com. Azeez Muritala Olowoeko noted that the bursary which has been the major dividend of democracy enjoyed by the students was last received eight (8) years ago.

FOSSU had her third Senate sitting on Tuesday 4th of August, 2020 in Oyo where all Senators (chapter presidents and Secretaries of all institutions across the country)  expressed the need for the Union to put more pressure on the state government on the imminent need for the payment of student bursary across the State.

The statement further reads: “It should be recalled that the leadership of FOSSU National held a meeting with the Commissioner for  Education, including heads of scholarship and bursary board earlier this year to be informed of the plan of the administration on bursary payment and modalities for which it would be paid.

Also, it should be recalled that the FOSSU National Council has submitted several letters requesting for an update on bursary payment, a repair of Union bus, FOSSU National Secretariat among others  but none has been gratified with a response from the state government. Hence, some members of the federation now fear that there is no plan for the disbursement of student bursary.

Consequent upon this, FOSSU, being the largest  indigenous association in Oyo state that houses over 487, 000 students  unanimously sounds the voice of Oyo state Students to the hearing of the state government, led by His Excellency, Engineer Seyi Makinde.

It is in furtherance of this objective that the Union (FOSSU) now issues a 14-day ultimatum to Oyo state government  starting from 13th of August to 27th of August, 2020 to address this issue.

The Union staunchly believes that the government has a role to play in providing enabling learning environment, and providing education for its youths at fairly subsidized rate through the instrument of bursary and scholarship to the STUDENTS’ constituency.

The council also recalls that Engineer Seyi Makinde has, during the electioneering process promised Oyo state students bursary every year spanning throughout his administration, if elected. However, to the dismay of the council, 15 months have now passed and nothing has been said or done to fulfill this worthwhile promise.

The union (FOSSU)  remains a pressure group that cannot be undermined in Oyo state. For it, is the foremost and indigenous students’ association in the State and the supposed _conduit pipe_ of interaction between students, the government, and the entire Oyo state citizenry. The cordial relationship held by the council and the state government over the years has in recent times suffered great setback because of the series of letters being sent by the Union to the state government but are yet to be responded to.

Conclusively, the Union is committed to the above ultimatum and the leadership of the union would not hesitate to mobilise a mass protest if the state government persists in the its numb silence and complicit attitude to their plight.”

The Wale Babalakin led-Governing Council of UNILAG has maintained its stance that Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe has been sacked and he is no longer the Vice Chancellor of the University any longer.

You will recall that in a letter signed by the Chairman of the Governing Council, Wale Babalakin, circulated across social media yesterday affirming the removal of the UNILAG VC, Prof. Oluwatoyin owing to series of allegations levelled against him. The letter reads:

Within few minutes of the purported removal, the UNILAG VC announced on social media that he was not removed and that whosoever that is behind the plot is his figment of imagination.

Meanwhile, the UNILAG Governing Council has maintained its stance that Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe has been removed and that there is no going back on its decision. The Registrar of the University while speaking to the PRESS said the removal of the VC is valid and that Prof. Omololu Soyombo of the Faculty of Social Sciences has been named to replace the erstwhile VC with immediate effect.

The Registrar said, “for the avoidance of doubt, I am in my capacity as Registrar and Secretary to Council, the only custodian of the minutes of Council and the authorizing officer on behalf of Council to issue official statements pertaining to all Council Affairs.

Members of the public are hereby advised to totally disregard the statement attributed to the said former Vice Chancellor. The position remains that he was lawfully removed by the Governing Council at a meeting fully attended by all Council members.

…This Open Process is First of Its Kind – N.U.T

Oyo State government has disclosed that 441 first-class graduates from different fields applied to write the computer-based test (CBT) that commenced in Ibadan on Tuesday.

The Chairman, Oyo State Teaching Service Commission, Pastor Akinade Alamu stated this while inspecting the exercise which held at the University of Ibadan CBT hall.

The exercise which was to run through the week till Saturday attracted applicants from all the zones of the State.

Pastor Alamu said the interest of the said best candidates in teaching service portended significant turnaround for the education sector in the State, as the present administration under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde has ensured all other inputs to achieve success have been provided.

“We are happy to have the best applicants, especially the first-class graduates taking part in this exercise, the government of Oyo State is desirous of lifting education to a higher level so that we will have as much as the best among our applicants.

“We want to bring back the pride attached to teaching in the old, it is the best profession and if we have the best hands joining, it is a good omen.

“The scores at the interview level will place applicants higher, we have a mark for NCE, we have different mark for graduates and there is a higher mark for first class, this shows that the whole thing will be based on merit.

“The present government is concerned with the upliftment of education in the State, this is why we decided that before we appoint anybody as teacher, such a person must be qualified, competent and ready to work in line with the passion of the governor for education, I believe this will raise the standard of education in the State and will catapult the performance rating of our State to the first three.”

Pastor Akinade said the inputs earlier made available to the education sector by the present administration like distribution of compendium of past questions of a subjects, the intervention classes, distribution of books among others were indications of a State that always planned.

He saluted the comportment of all applicants that wrote the test on Tuesday and reiterated the stand of the government to pick the best among the applicants.

The State Chairman, Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Adedoyin Samson while commenting on the exercise, said the CBT test was the first of its kind, as it depicted love for probity and professionalism in public service.

He maintained that the system would allow for the recruitment of the best among the candidates against the allotment of candidates to political office holders that used to hold sway before now.

At the exercise was the Permanent Secretary, TESCOM, Mrs Grace Oderinde, members of staff of the commission and officials of the University of Ibadan CBT hall.

The governor of Ekiti State has suspended Principal of a secondary school who failed to receive the Governor of the State, Governor Kayode Fayemi on a tour to access level of compliance to COVID-19 safety guidelines by schools in the State.

In a letter signed by the Assistant Director (Information), Kunle Adeniyi, the letter directs the Principal to hand over the management of the school to the most senior vice-principal in the school pending the conclusion of appropriate disciplinary action by the Teaching Service Commission.”

A public service announcement signed by the Assistant Director (Information), Kunle Adeniyi, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, stated, “At Methodist Girls High School, Ifaki Ekiti, the principal was not available to receive the governor and his entourage and making the monitoring exercise impossible in the school despite the notice from the Ministry of Education.”

The statement quoted Fayemi as saying that schools must ensure that the sitting arrangement of students was made to conform with COVID-19 protocol for physical distancing and to allow teachers’ unhindered movement around the classrooms.