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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed disappointment in Governor Ademola Adeleke and the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Prof. Clement Adebooye, over the announcement of a two-year tenure extension for the Vice-Chancellor.
In a press release signed by the ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, and obtained by our correspondent on Friday, the union maintained that the UNIOSUN Law, under which Prof. Adebooye was appointed, is a domesticated version of a Principal Act — the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act, 2012.
According to the union, the Law stipulates that the Vice-Chancellor shall serve for a single five-year tenure and there is no room for extension, saying, “By importing a two-year extension into the UNIOSUN Law, through a hurriedly packaged amendment to serve his purpose, the State Governor has set a bad precedent that could undo the gains of the Universities Miscellaneous Act in Nigeria.
“The enactment of the Principal Act was part of efforts to curtail the pervading atmosphere of rancor and bitterness thrown up by tenure extension or renewal for vice-chancellors in Nigerian universities.
“The tenure elongation at the UNIOSUN may have reignited this unhealthy atmosphere. It has all the trappings of exacerbating pent-up anger, sycophancy, and administrative witch-hunt, which are all injurious to the healthy growth and development of an upcoming university like UNIOSUN.
“Again, Osun State has become a bad example for governors who may wish to put political expediency over and above legal and ethical standards to reverse themselves on the Universities (Miscellaneous) Act of 2012.
“ASUU cannot exonerate the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adebooye, who once served as a Branch Secretary to the union at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. His decision to accept the tenure elongation, following the so-called consultation, is unacceptable. It negates our union’s principles and core values.
“We believe Prof. Adebooye still has room to rethink this matter before January 2027 when his legally valid tenure will come to an end. As for the Visitor to UNIOSUN, Governor Adeleke should be told in clear terms that this singular act of hurriedly changing a law when the tenure of the incumbent is about ending is antithetical to democratic norms and it stands condemned in strong terms. It smacks of disrespect for the rule of law and puts a big question mark on his democratic credentials.
“This is not good enough for a governor whose recent re-election against all odds drew a nationwide applause. But, should reasons fail to prevail, ASUU shall not hesitate to further challenge the absurdity at UNIOSUN before it gains a notorious national currency,” ASUU said.
Speaking with Saturday Sun, Prof. Tunji Ogunyemi, a lawyer, economic historian and public affairs analyst, posited that the governor has no authority to extend the duration of the term of any officer whose term is determined by law.
Ogunyemi, who explained that all certificates and vouchers signed and meetings called by the VC during that extended period would be considered void, said any income and honorarium that he received during that period would be received corruptly because they would constitute illegal compensation.
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However, Ogunyemi noted that if the House of Assembly succeeded in amending the law and it was signed before the expiration of the tenure of the VC next January, Prof. Adebooye could enjoy the extension.
He posited that the legislators have the power to amend a law made by the Assembly under Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
A former Provost of the university’s College of Law, Prof. Mojeed Alabi, blamed political interference for the controversy over the tenure elongation, describing any tenure extension for a Vice-Chancellor as an abnormality within the Nigerian university system.
Prof. Alabi, who holds dual professorships in Political Science and Public & International Law, further criticised the procedural handling of the decision, noting that if the Governor intended to grant an extension, the enabling law should have been amended before the announcement, rather than after.
He said, “It is an abnormality within the Nigerian university system, in which I have spent an upward of 40 years, to extend the tenure of any Vice Chancellor under whatever guise.
“The development in Uniosun was not, however, unexpected given the extent of political involvement in the affairs of the University in the last couple of years and the political rigmarole that surrounded the present appointment.
“Not being an eligible candidate (for reasons of political affiliation only) in the race for the office of the Vice Chancellor, I have refrained from taking sides even when I had been aware more than three months ago that the incumbent had a marching order to deliver his LGA in the Governorship polls as a condition for granting the extension being surreptitiously canvassed for.
“As a friend, I have congratulated the recipient for playing his politics well in the circumstances. But as a veteran of the university system, I would have loved that the incumbent leaves the stage when ovation was the loudest, given that his first appointment was on merit attested to by all, including myself.
“As to whether the Governor had the power to so do, I would have preferred that His Excellency used his influence to get the establishment law of the University amended before making the pronouncement and not vice versa.
“Whichever way it is done, such an extension did not take cognisance of the historical factors that compelled the reversal of Vice Chancellor’s tenure to single non-renewable term of five years, laying a bad precedent that could reverse the gains on the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on this matter some years ago,” Prof. Alabi said.
