Members of the Senate, the highest policymaking organ of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) responsible for directing and controlling all academic activities, are pushing for the urgent removal of Victor Ndoma-Egba as pro-chancellor and Governing Council chairman.
Chaired by the vice chancellor or anyone acting in his place, the Senate includes all full-time professors of the university, deans, academic directors, heads of academic departments and units, and the university librarian.
The acting VC convened a Senate emergency meeting on August 5. At that meeting, it was resolved that a press conference would be held to publicly highlight concerns about the happenings within FUOYE. A press conference was then scheduled to hold on August 13. On that day, only two members showed up, effectively killing the idea. However, a draft of the press statement “to alert the World about the Destruction of FUOYE under the watch of Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council at the Instance of, and the Active Connivance of the Suspended Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina” was quietly circulated within the school.
“The mistake they made was not holding that conference immediately after the emergency meeting,” said a FUOYE employee, whose identity is protected, on Wednesday.
“By scheduling it to hold a week later, they created room for cracks. I learnt that someone among them went round to caution people not to attend the press briefing.”
READ ALSO: FUOYE Governing Council Insists Staff Sexually Harassed by Ex-VC Must Apologise
Raising 12 important issues against Ndoma-Egba, the statement revealed that the deliberate re-victimisation of Folasade Adebayo, a senior staff member sexually harassed and publicly humiliated by Fasina, had sparked indignation within the institution.
FIJ previously exposed Fasina’s compromising conduct which runs against the university regulations and has chronicled the irregularities in which the matter has been managed since the governing council empanelled a committee to look into it.
WHY THE SENATE WANTS NDOMA-EGBA REMOVED
President Bola Tinubu appointed Ndoma-Egba in November. On his first day in office, the Senate said, he called an emergency meeting where he suspended union leaders for their role in siding with Fasina’s sexual harassment victim.
“This was done without fair hearing as the union leaders were summarily suspended without trial. It was a case of punishment before trial,” the press statement, titled ‘Enough is Enough: It is Time to Reclaim Our University’, read in part.
A source who asked not to be named told FIJ that Senate members were afraid of selective and targeted attacks.
“There is a history of targeted attacks within the school when someone would sell out after a legitimate opposition has been formed against an issue,” they said.
“But if you look at the speech [discussed in the latter part of this story] by the acting VC when he met with the Senate, you would realise that he mentioned some of the issues the Senate itemised.”
The press statement bore testimony to how Adebayo was continually “intimidated and harassed” by the Ndoma-Egba governing council.
“The reports of the Investigative and Disciplinary Panels of Council were never given to the victim. Yet, Ndoma-Egba’s council did not only insist that the woman must apologise for any truce to happen, but same report was tendered in evidence in court by Fasina against the victim,” the statement said.
“To add salt to injuries, Ndoma-Egba allegedly rewarded Fasina with a princely sum of about One Hundred and Twenty-eight Million Naira (N128,000,000.00) for medical and research leave abroad.”
On January 24, FUOYE’s governing council created a panel to investigate the case between Fasina and Adebayo. As it was the rule and practice within the school, sexual harassment is considered “gross misconduct” and anyone accused of such would be placed on suspension pending a full investigation. But Ndoma-Egba and the council insisted Fasina would not be suspended because “the circumstances are different”.
A watermarked copy of the Senate’s press statement.
While the panel was on the case, both the council and the management under Ndoma-Egba and Fasina embarked on a retreat in Kigali, Rwanda. In the Senate’s statement, this trip was referred to as “Kigaligate”.
“In the heat of the sexual harassment saga,” the Senate wrote, “Fasina hurriedly arranged a foreign retreat for Council in Kigali. As it turned out, it was a money laundering adventure to buy over the Council regarding the sexual harassment and tailor-made advert for the position of the VC. Else, how do you explain the fact that they landed in Lagos and moved to Abuja the second day to pass a not guilty verdict on Fasina despite the overwhelming evidence carefully marshalled by the victim?”
FIJ had reported about how the council convened an emergency virtual meeting on April 14 to approve Fasina’s six-month leave application he wrote and submitted the same day.
In his application, Fasina wrote that he intended to undergo a medical checkup and “use the rest of the time to engage in my outstanding research activities outside the country”.
In its statement, the Senate stated that the ideal punishment for Fasina was “suspension”. But Ndoma-Egba instead “concocted medical and research leave abroad” for him and “also approved One Hundred and Twenty-eight Million Naira (N128,000,000.00) for the leave”.
“But we learnt from various sources Fasina has not left the shores of this country since then. If this is established to be true, He must be made to refund the money to the coffers of the university,” the statement continued.
Fasina recommended that Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) Tajudeen Opoola or Deputy Vice Chancellor Shittu Olubunmi should act in his absence.
The council chose Olubunmi, the senior deputy vice chancellor.
According to the Senate, Fasina has continued to parade himself as the substantive head of the school, a situation that has given rise to “two kings in the same boat”.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is alien to Nigerian university system. But thanks to Ndoma-Egba, the legendary Yoruba proverb that two kings cannot simultaneously reign over the same jurisdiction has been condemned to the dustbin of history,” the Senate stated.
The acting VC and the DVCs constantly had misunderstandings because Fasina “allegedly detailed” them “not to cooperate with” the acting VC.
“This particular matter is at the heart of the trust deficit, legitimacy crisis and instability rocking FUOYE. This should be addressed by relevant superior authorities. Two kings in the same boat will never work,” FUOYE’s Senate wrote.
Meanwhile, the governing council violated Section 3.2.1.2 (vi) of the university’s revised regulations on the conditions of service in appointing the acting VC.
Section 3.2.1.2 (vi) reads:
In any case of a vacancy in the office of the Vice-Chancellor, the Council shall appoint an acting Vice-Chancellor on the recommendation of the Senate.
The Senate said that Ndoma-Egba prevented it from exercising its legitimate power because of his “agenda”.
“But because of Ndoma-Egba’s agenda, he did not deem it fit to notify the Senate to exercise its legitimate power in electing and recommending an Acting VC to Council for approval,” wrote the Senate. “He hurriedly convened an online meeting of Council and appointed an Acting VC. Good enough, Senate has since ruled through a motion that never again would such blatant usurpation of its power be allowed and/or sustained. We are fully prepared. Be warned!”
FASINA NAMED HIS FAVOURITE CANDIDATES
In the last week of July, the acting VC ordered posting and reposting of heads of units and directorates by FUOYE’s regulations. However, Ndoma-Egba objected through a July 31 letter mandating Olubunmi to “immediately suspend all the postings” until he got clarity about the financial implications of the development and how involved the management team was in the acting VC’s decision.
Olubunmi responded to Ndoma-Egba’s letter. The head of the governing council partly shifted his position. He insisted that “Council was interested in two positions. You know what –these were the Head of Procurement and Director of the Institute of Part-Time Studies. These two offices have been the epicenter of systemic corruption in the university. They are so deeply entrenched to the extent that they no longer have regard for any security and anti-corruption agency in Nigeria”.
On August 6, a day after the Senate decided to hold a press conference, the acting VC met with and briefed them on the happenings at the school. At the meeting, he revealed that an election committee, which he was part of, to elect people to head those units and directorates disqualified some candidates by Fasina because of lack of basic credentials to hold or retain such positions.
“The Registrar issued the guidelines for elections of Deans and the process began. The DVC (Administration) and the Registrar conducted most of the elections. I joined them in a few locations. The sitting Deans recommended Heads of Departments,” according to “A Speech Presented to Senate By The Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof Olubunmi Shittu, On 6th August, 2025.
“The substantive Vice Chancellor, Prof A.S. Fasina sent to me a list of his preferred candidates for Deans, Directors and leads of Departments. Many of the names, later, were similar with those who won elections or got recommended by the sitting Deans. When I collated the lists, I called a meeting of myself with the other two Deputy Vice Chancellors where we looked at the lists together.
“They were against some of the proposals and I yielded to their views. In some areas, however, where I saw glaring irregularities, I put down my feet. For instance, the Regulation states that a non-professor can only be in office for one year renewable by another year. We have individuals who became Directors as non-professors and have spent over four and half years on the beat when even professors should have maximum of four years. We decided to change such people. Early on 31 July. 2025 being the last possible day to announce the appointments, the Registrar published the lists through the various platforms.”
Following the circulation of the list of the appointees, Bursar Adebola Deb-Ajagunna posted on the management platform that she “took exception to the appointments because she was not consulted for financial implication relating to the positions”.
Olubunmi maintained that the appointments would take effect on July 31 as applicable in all public universities nationwide and the financial “implications of such changes are immaterial in the sense that, the system is aware that someone must, of necessity, occupy each of the positions all the year round”.
“They are not new appointments. They are not supposed to be placed on payroll. No financial implication is required before a Dean is changed or a Head of Department is replaced,” Olubunmi explained.
He also maintained that he was not required to consult with the bursar before making the decision as those appointments were position-based because the issues of allowances due to those offices were policy matters which were not attached to individuals but their offices.
NDOMA-EGBA COULD HAVE ‘SHUT DOWN ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATION INDEFINITELY’
Ndoma-Egba’s opposition “because some of the postings impact the Council” could have halted academic activities in the school idefinitely, according to Olubunmi.
A watermarked copy of the acting VC’s speech to the Senate.
“I informed the Chairman that, if the new appointments are suspended, it means the academic administration have been shut down indefinitely,” the acting VC recalled in his speech.
“The Chairman in his letter dated 4th August, 2025 stated that since I said I have received inputs from critical stakeholders and no financial implication is required before a Dean is changed or Head of Department is replaced, He said, I take your word for it.
“He therefore lifted the temporary embargo on release of letters to all those who were appointed except the one relating with procurement officer and that the man I appointed is not Bureau of Public Procurement BPP certified person and that this will certainly cause some problems or even sanctions.
“In addition, he wanted me to retain him in view of the unfinished processing of certain crucial papers that impact on the 2025 intervention of TETFund in expedient infrastructural development of the University. He therefore directed that my earlier posting in procurement should be withdrawn forthwith.”
Acting VC Olubunmi did not respond to FIJ’s calls on Wednesday. He had not responded to a follow-up message on WhatsApp at press time.
‘NO PRESS CONFERENCE WAS HELD’
FIJ called Olasupo Sanni, a media consultant to FUOYE’s governing council, for comment on Tuesday.
In one breath, Sanni said that Fasina was spending his research leave in the United States, in response to the Senate’s claim that he was quietly spending it at LASU.
Sanni also said that the Senate did not hold any press conference “because the document that suggests it so held is not defined” and failed to specifically respond to other issues.
“The vice chancellor was not suspended. He’s on research leave and currently undertaking that in the United States,” said Sanni.
“Meeting of the Senate did not hold as claimed because the document that suggests it so held is not defined.
“The acting VC acknowledges this much in his address as forwarded by you that the substantive VC, Abayomi Fasina, is on research leave. The acting VC in his private capacity does not constitute the Senate.
“It is impliedly wrong, therefore, to presume that the FUOYE Senate directs attacks against the Ndoma-Egba led governing council. The Senate did not pass a vote of no confidence on the council chairman and the vice chancellor.”
A copy of SSANU’s petition to the minister.
The latest chain of events builds on the issues contained in a 16-page petition submitted to Education Minister Tunji Alausa by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) against Ndoma-Egba and Fasina on May 2.
READ ALSO: FUOYE Panel Delays VC Fasina Sexual Harassment Probe Report for 2 Months
In its petition, SSANU highlighted Ndoma-Egba’s efforts to cover up the sexual harassment case and protect Fasina from accountability.
The national leadership of the non-teaching staff body presented five demands to the minister; the dissolution of the governing council, the suspension of Fasina, an audit of FUOYE’s treasury, an investigation of the council’s role mishandling of the sexual harassment case and a request for federal anti-corruption departments to investigate and prosecute culpable individuals.
Alausa could not be immediately reached for comments on this story. His phone line did not ring when FIJ dialled it on Wednesday. A recorded voice call was left for him. He had not responded to a WhatsApp message sent on the same day.
When asked on Wednesday whether the union had received any feedback on the petition from the minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, National President of SSANU, said no.
The post INSIDER: FUOYE Senate Wants Pro-Chancellor Victor Ndoma-Egba Removed for Protecting VC Fasina Who Sexually Harassed Employee appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.