The Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State (FUOYE) at the weekend, insisted that relieving its former registrar, Mr. Olatunbosun S. E. Odusanya, of his appointment over allegation of illegal recruitment of 337 staff and other misconducts followed due process with recourse to extant laws, regulations and best practice.
It said contrary to allegation of witch-hunt being peddled by the sacked registrar, his termination of appointment was carried out by the University Governing Council and not the management over sundry proven allegations of misconduct in accordance with Section 14(3) of the Regulations Governing Condition of Service of Senior Staff of the university.
This was disclosed in a statement by Foluso Ogunmodede, the Chief Information Officer to the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina.
According to the statement, the Governing Council of the university which considered and upheld reports of a Committee on Review of Appointments, Staff Disciplinary Committee of Council and some external members of Council, said Odusanya was given fair hearing, hence, due process was strictly followed by the committee which sat between 19th and 26th April, 2021.
However, the committee indicted Odusanya for violating Public Service Rules 020102 and 030301 on a series of appointments made between 1st August, 2020 and 10th February, 2021 by recruiting 337 staff against 291 documented in the appointment register.
Specifically, Odusanya ignored former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode Soremekun’s directive by recruiting an over 64 year-old staff of a Polytechnic, who was billed for retirement in the next ten months as a Senior Lecturer.
He also recruited a sacked employee of a university teaching hospital as a Chief Accountant in the university.
The statement reads: “The former registrar, Mr. Olatunbosun Odusanya’s termination of appointment from the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, followed due process in line with extant regulations and best practice.
“Mr. Odusanya recruited 337 members of staff illegally as against 291 documented in the Appointment Register in the Personnel Affairs Division as reported by the Committee on the Review of Appointments.
“The Committee which sat between 19th and 26th April, 2021, after critically reviewing allegation of illegal recruitment of 337 staff and sundry misconducts against Mr. Odusanya and its interaction with Mr. Odusanya on 22nd April, 2021 found contradictions in his defence.
“For instance, the committee discovered that Mr. Odusanya as the chief custodian of the university’s laws and regulations failed to constitute interview panels to interview applicants.
“Uniquely, he appointed a lecturer whose publications were sent out for promotion to the rank of a Reader as a Professor in the Department of Mass Communication without due process and requisite publications.
“Those on adjunct appointments, who were recommended by the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, were not appointed. Instead Mr. Olatunbosun Odusanya appointed eight Assistant Lecturers without recourse to Regulations on Staff/Students Ratio and Teaching/Non-Teaching Staff Ratio.
“He was also indicted for recruiting a staff to a non-existing Department of Forestry and Wildlife in the Faculty of Agriculture.
“Besides, Mr. Odusanya acted in contravention of Section 14(3) of the Regulation by relocating the university’s Personnel Affairs Division to a hotel in Ado-Ekiti.
“The above are some of many sundry allegations of misconduct committed by Mr. Odusanya.
“The committee also found the former registrar culpable for flagrantly disregarding the guidelines stipulated in the memoranda/letters sent to the university by regulatory agencies such as the office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Federal Character Commission and the Budget.
“Consequently, the committee recommended Mr. Odusanya’s dismissal from the service of FUOYE in line with Section 14(3) of the Regulations Governing Conditions of Service of Senior Staff of the University.”
