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By Gabriel Dike
A major agitation is currently brewing at the 43- year- old Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo over the issue of two terms for some specific principal officers.
In public institutions across the country, a single term for all principal officers was introduced after the Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act 2012.
Lagos State Government amended the LASU law for a single term only for the vice chancellor rather than a uniform single term for all principal officers of the university.
Currently as it operates in LASU, the Registrar, Bursar and the University Librarian enjoy two terms in office, which is generating ripples on the campus.
There are agitations among non-teaching in the university for the governing council or the state government to align with other public universities to make the Registrar, Librarian and Bursar positions a single term.
Daily Sun gathered that the governing council has already advertised the Registrar’s position.
The agitation for a uniform single term in LASU for principal officers reached the governing council and they rather directed the concerned staff to channel their demand to the state government.
In reacting to the agitation, Daily Sun gathered that one of the staff unions wrote the state government and sought for the amendment of LASU law to extend the for single term to other principal officers.
The union drew the attention of the state government that the current vice chancellor enjoys a single term based on the University Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act 2012.
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In the letter to state government officials, the union wondered why the single term provisions were not extended to the remaining three principal officers.
The non-academic staff union observed that LASU remains the only public universities still applying the old law.
The union reminded the state government that in other state-owned universities, the vice chancellor, registrar, bursar and the university librarian enjoy a single term of five years.
According to the union, the absence of a uniform term in LASU would erode the principles of equity, accountability and institutional renewal, which the 2012 Act was meant to encourage.
The senior staff letter, which was copied the governor, Chairman, House Committee on tertiary education, Speaker of House Assembly and Chairman, LASU governing council signed by the Chairman, Comrade Demu Bankole and the General Secretary Olori Adewunmi, urged the state government to begin the process to amend LASU law to reflect the single provision for the four principal officers.
Following complaints from members, the union intervened and urged the government to operate a uniform standard in tertiary institutions in the state, encourage new leaders by promoting transparency, align principal officers tenure in LASU to meet best practices in the Nigeria University System and the need to ensure integrity in selection of helmsman for LASU.
Daily Sun learnt that four months after the letter was dispatched to the commissioner, no response has been received and the process to appoint another Registrar will soon start.
Daily Sun reached out to the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mr. Tolani Sule and the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, both has responded as the time of going to the press.
Both failed to answer questions sent as text and WhatsApp messages to their phone.
