UNILAG: Why we sacked Ogundipe — Babalakin

 THE crisis rocking the University of Lagos, UNILAG, took a new turn, at the weekend, as Chairman of the Governing Council, Dr. Wale Babalakin, SAN, gave reasons for the removal of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, while the local branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Universities in Nigeria, CVC, faulted the action of the Council.

Babalakin, who briefed newsmen in Ikeja, not only accused Ogundipe of trampling upon all financial guidelines of the university but called for the investigation of Ogundipe by appropriate agencies of government.

Babalakin, who reeled out a long list of misconducts against Ogundipe, accused him of not following extant rules and regulations regarding the management of the resources of the university.

He said: “For instance, Ogundipe, without the approval of the Governing Council, renovated his official quarters for N49 million and also approved N41 for the Bursar to renovate his official accommodation too. This is against the regulations of the university.

“The financial guidelines of the University of Lagos give the Vice-Chancellor the power to spend, not more than N2.5 million in some instances, without the approval of the Governing Council and anything higher must be brought to the Council for approval.

That is unacceptable. He must be investigated. We need to do that for us to start building the university. I can tell you that when we probed the account of the university, it was in tatters.”

Babalakin also accused Ogundipe of forging the university’s documents and manipulating the process for the appointment of the Director of Works of the university.

“Under the law of the university, it is the Vice-Chancellor that chairs some committees. There was this vacant position of the Director of Works of the university and some people applied. Somebody from the Lagos State Polytechnic came first in the selection interview conducted. However, Ogundipe changed the final results of the applicants to favour his choice.

But he did not know that some people in the committee had made a photocopy of the results of each applicant and when he was confronted, he had to cancel everything and made another call for selecting the Director of Works.”