By Our Reporter
The Western zone of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has rejected the decision of Governing Council of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, (FUOYE), Ekiti State which exonerated the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina, of sexual harassment allegations brought against him by a married female member of staff, Engr. Folashade Adebayo.
SSANU which strongly condemned the FUOYE Council for punishing the accuser instead of the accused, also said it was shocking that the council did not see anything reprehensible in the recorded conversations between the Vice-Chancellor and his married subordinate, Mrs Adebayo, where Prof. Fasina, as alleged, made utterances such as:”I am dying for you; I will not leave you; Make me happy and I will make you happy; I will not accept your rejection; If I had met you before now, who said I would not have married you?” to Folashade Adebayo
The Daily Crucible reports that the FUOYE Governing Council had on Tuesday cleared Prof. Abayomi Fasina of sexual harassment allegations.
The council through a statement on Wednesday by the university Registrar and Secretary of the council, Mr Mufutau Ibrahim, directed Mrs Folasade Adebayo, the accuser, to write a letter of apology to the council within seven days.
According to the statement, “The council asked the vice chancellor, to excuse himself from the meeting to ensure free and open deliberation on the findings of the committee set up to look into the case.
“The alleged audio recordings were listened to by all council members with the assistance of a translator and it was discussed exhaustively.
“Members held that there was no sexual harassment which equally confirms the earlier investigation by the Nigerian police, where Adebayo, made a statement that she was not sexually harassed,” the council said.
The Council also agreed that the audio recording was used as a tool to blackmail Prof. Fasina into confirming Adebayo as substantive Director of Works and Services when he did not have the authority to do.
“Council directed that Adebayo be warned for bringing the name of the university to disrepute. She is directed to write a letter of apology to the council within seven days,” the statement added.
The council, however, expressed concern over the handling of the matter by the management of the university, which gave Adebayo preferential treatment by backdating her promotion to 2015 in 2024.
The statement further added that the council directed the management to review the backdated promotion of Adebayo while the position for a substantive Director of Physical Planning and Director of Works and Services of the university would be advertised later.
But reacting to the development on Thursday, April 10, the SSANU through a release by Abdussobur Olayiwola Salaam, PhD, its National Vice President and Chairman Western Zone, noted that the council by its decisions, had set a bad precedent and a new low in the nation’s university system.
Dismissing it as “compromised decisions,” the Western Zone of SSANU also rejected in totality, the various sanctions slammed on Mrs Folashade Adebayo for allegedly bringing the name of FUOYE into disrepute.
According to the association, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fashina ought to have been the person so sanctioned, for alleged immoral and unethical conduct, which SSANU further claimed, had desecrated his office, compromised the capacity of that office to hold disciplinary powers over staff, and bringing the reputation of the University into disrepute.
It, therefore, called on the Federal Government, through the Minister of Education, Dr. Morufu Tunji Alausa, to courageously and immediately dissolve the FUOYE Governing Council for lacking in integrity, not being able to provide a moral compass, compromising ethical standards and jeopardising the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
It also called on the Minister for Women Affairs, Mrs. Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Senate Committee on Education, the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education, the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, the House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs, the National Agency for Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigeria Labour Congress and all other stakeholders in the protection of the rights of Nigerians, to wade into the matter.
The association warned that the issue has potential to become a cause of National industrial unrest in the university system, stressing that the association had begun mobilisation of universities in the zone for a possible industrial action by SSANU.
It warned further that its members would not relent until their demands were met.
Below is the full text of statement.
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10th April, 2025
*PUBLIC STATEMENT/PRESS RELEASE: REACTION OF THE WESTERN ZONE OF THE SENIOR STAFF ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES TO THE DECISION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY, OYE EKITI AT ITS MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, 8TH APRIL, 2025*
The Western Zone of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) is not shocked and had indeed anticipated the outcome of the meeting of the Governing Council of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, held on Tuesday, 8th April, 2025, wherein decisions were taken on the case of sexual harassment involving the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fashina and a Deputy Director in the University, Engineer Folashade Adebayo. It is, however, sad to note that the decisions of the Governing Council as conveyed in the Press Release signed by the Secretary to Council, Mr. Mufutau Ibrahim has laid a bad precedent and a new low for the Nigerian University system with the grasp at straws in the desperate attempt to protect the villain while further victimising the victim. Yet, what did we expect? Can a cockroach be innocent in a gathering of fowls?
The Governing Council, with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as Chairman, should have known that an Investigation Panel is a process and not an event. This process began over four months ago and SSANU has enough reason to assert that the process had been compromised within that period. Therefore, asking the Vice-Chancellor to recuse himself at that Council meeting to present the Council as being fair and just in taking its decisions, smacks of an attempt to pull wool over the eyes of the public because the investigation did not begin and end on that day. This is the reason why we had maintained that the continued stay in office of the Vice Chancellor during the pendency of the Investigation would compromise the fairness of the process. We have not been proven wrong!
That the Governing Council acknowledged the existence of audio recordings between the Vice-Chancellor and Engineer Folashade Adebayo gladdens our hearts. While we note that the Governing Council admitted that the recordings were not subjected to any forensic evaluation, we are taken aback that rather than focus on the contents of the recordings, the Governing Council attempted to gaslight the public by querying why the recordings were made and concluding it was for the purpose of blackmail. We are shocked that the Governing Council saw nothing reprehensible in a conversation between the Vice-Chancellor and his married subordinate where the Vice-Chancellor made the following utterances- “I am dying for you; I will not leave you; Make me happy and I will make you happy; I will not accept your rejection; If I had met you before now, who said I would not have married you?; I will not leave you; I will not leave you; I am still looking at you and I will not accept”; among other uttered invitations to treat. We find it further shameful that the Council did not query the spate of queries that followed the rejection of the offer by Professor Fashina in his bid to intimidate Engineer Folashade Adebayo into submission. We are also further disappointed that the Governing Council did not see anything wrong in a conversation where the Vice Chancellor compromised and impugned other Principal Officers of the University, especially the Registrar and Bursar, in a bid to sweet talk Engineer Folashade Adebayo to accept his advances. Is this how morally depraved and unconscionable we have become as a society?
Rather than be disturbed about the unhealthy and unequal balance of the conversation between a superior with full disciplinary powers and his subordinate, the Governing Council focused on the recording of the conversations determining it to be a blackmail and querying why such unholy conversation should have been recorded in the first place. The attempt to condemn the recording of the conversation is similar to condemning a house owner for recording an attempt by armed robbers or burglars to enter his house.
A Governing Council representing the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Visitor to the Federal University, Oye Ekiti should be constituted of men and women of integrity. Unfortunately, the present Governing Council of Federal University, Oye Ekiti has failed the integrity test and their continued stay in office, puts a big question mark on the commitment of the present Government, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to renew hope in our educational institutions.
The reference to an investigation report by the Nigeria Police Force purportedly absolving Professor Abayomi Fashina of sexual harassment is quite unfortunate because the investigation over which Professor Fashina was invited by the Special Fraud Unit was not on an allegation of sexual harassment but on allegations of fraud, illegal diversion of funds and financial infractions. Moreso, the Special Fraud Unit is not an arm of the Nigeria Police charged with a mandate to investigate sexual offences.
To further claim that Engineer Folashade Adebayo never made any complaint of sexual harassment against Professor Abayomi Sunday Fashina is a barefaced and brazen lie.
Consequently, and in view of the compromised decisions of the Governing Council on this issue, the Western Zone of SSANU rejects in totality, the various sanctions meted out to Engineer Folashade Adebayo for allegedly bringing the name of the Institution into disrepute. Conversely, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fashina should have been the person so sanctioned, for his immoral, unethical conduct which has desecrated the office of the Vice Chancellor, compromised the capacity of that office to hold disciplinary powers over staff, and bringing the reputation of the University into disrepute. SSANU Western Zone, in the same vein, rejects the sanctions alloted to the Chairman and Secretary of the Branch, Comrades Benjamin Faleye and Ayomikun Aluko, who are being punished for being whistle-blowers. The Council’s suggestion of being gracious in its decision on the duo insults our intelligence as their decision is nothing but vindictive. The motive of demanding for letters apologies within a seven (7) day frame is not lost on us, as the intent is to automatically dismiss them from service if this is not done, and knowing quite well that as unionists, they would not succumb to apologising for an offence not committed.
Based on the foregoing, the Western Zone of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, calls on the Federal Government, through the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Morufu Tunji Alausa, to act courageously by immediately dissolving the Governing Council of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti for lacking in integrity, not being able to provide a moral compass, compromising ethical standards and jeopardising the renewed hope agenda of the present administration. We further demand that an independent panel be set up to investigate this gross miscarriage of justice, while Professor Abayomi Sunday Fashina be placed on suspension until the end of this process.
We further call on the Honourable Minister for Women Affairs, Mrs. Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Senate Committee on Education, the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education, the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, the House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs, the National Agency for Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigeria Labour Congress and all other stakeholders in the protection of the rights of Nigerians, to wade into this matter which has the potential of becoming a cause of National industrial unrest in our university system. We have begun mobilisation of all twenty six (26) universities in the Western Zone of SSANU for a possible industrial action and we shall not stop until our demands are met.
An injury to one is an injury to all!
Signed
*Abdussobur Olayiwola Salaam, PhD*
*National Vice President and Chairman Western Zone*
