The Joint Campus
Committee of the National Association of Nigerian Students in
conjunction with the Students’ Union Government of the University of
Ado Ekiti (UNAD), has endorsed the removal of the Vice Chancellor of
UNAD, Dipo Kolawole by the Ekiti State government.
Governor Kayode
Fayemi had on Wednesday sacked Mr Kolawole and the Vice Chancellor of
the University of Education, Ikere Ekiti, Akin Ogunlade and his
counterpart in the University of Science and Technology (USTI), Oye
Samuel Bandele for undisclosed reasons.
The Provost of the
College of Education, Titilayo Ogunmola was also removed and
immediately replaced with Francesca Aladejana of the Faculty of
Education, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
At a joint press
conference in Ado Ekiti by the chairman of NANS/JCC in Ekiti State,
Akogun Oluwaseun, the students said that they were never averse to the
sack of the UNAD Vice Chancellor contrary to the rumour that they were
staging a protest against the government’s action .
The students, who
said that the action was not misplaced but progressive, commended Mr
Fayemi for immediately cutting down the UNAD tuition fees, that had
been hiked by the immediate past administration.
The conference was
also attended by the University of Ado-Ekiti Students Union President,
Kehinde Okunnuga and the Coordinator of the Movement for the
Emancipation of Nigerian Students (MENS), Tope Idowu.
The students who
endorsed the position taken by the state government, insisted that at
no time did the students intend to protest over Mr Kolawole’s removal
in particular, clarifying that the students only reacted to the
suddenness of the action, which they claimed caught them unawares.
It was widely
rumoured on Wednesday in Ado Ekiti that a section of the university’s
community, including some students and staff were protesting the
removal of the Vice Chancellor, whom they described as “the architect
of modern UNAD”.
According to the
students, “we want to say without iota of neutrality that we support in
entirety, the decision of the government and stand firmly by it.”
They added that,
“If we had protested on Wednesday as being claimed, especially by the
students populace, the entire Ado Ekiti would have felt it and it would
have gone beyond the expectations of the people.”
The students
demanded the immediate position from the state government on the status
of the University of Education which is being proposed for merger with
the University of Ado Ekiti, as well as a review of the tuition fees
payable by the 200 level students in the University of Ado Ekiti.
