Lagos- The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday charged Gov. Babatunde Fashola to send a Visitation Panel to the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, to sanitise the rot in the university system.
Dr Adesola Nassir, zonal coordinator, ASUU, Lagos Zone, said at a news conference in LASU that it was more than five years since a visitation panel visited the university.
“A university is supposed to be visited at least once every five years, under normal circumstances but it is more than five years that LASU was visited.
“ASUU once again calls on the visitor, Gov. Fashola to intervene in the maladministration of LASU by sending a visitation team to LASU,” he said.
Nassir said that a visit by the visitation team to the university would commence the process of instituting permanent peace at LASU.
He said that the visitation team would be a sure way to get first hand information on the state of the university.
“It is no longer news that LASU had become endemic for staff and student crises, owing largely to the present administration of the university.
“We feel that a refusal to do this would mean that the visitor supports the oppression and maladministration at LASU. For now, we still feel otherwise,” he said.
Nassir said that the administration of the present Vice-chancellor, Prof. John Obafunwa, was anti-people, as the university’s organs were colluding with some suspended members of the union to foment crises.
He explained that ASUU was concerned about the administration of the university because the union was expected to provide guidance to both the Governing Council and the Visitor on policy direction.
“LASU was established primarily to take care of the interest of the good people of Lagos State and also as an integral component of the university in search of truth for development of the human race,” he said.
Nassir however noted that the Dr Adekunle Idris-led executive remains the only Exco recognised to ASUU, both at the National and Zonal levels.
He stated that the ASUU national would not hesitate to take a legal action on some suspended members of ASUU-LASU who were claiming leadership of the chapter and the suspension of the Dr Idris-led executive.
“ASUU will take them up for impersonation, but before taking them to court, we will take them through an internal mechanism,” he said.
Nassir said that the suspension of 21 ASUU- LASU members who undermined the decision of the union and violated the last strike of the chapter was ratified at the last NEC meeting.
“Meanwhile, our union would ensure that the names of the ASUU-LASU suspended members are circulated among our members in all public (Federal and State) universities in the country,” he said.
The ASUU zonal coordinator urged the dramatic personae not to give the union any more opportunity to take action, which would outlive the present administration, which it believed they are colluding with.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a group led by an acting chairman, Mr Asokere Ayodele had on Dec. 12 claimed leadership of the ASUU-LASU
Ayodele, in a press briefing claimed to have suspended the ASUU-LASU chapter executives led by Dr Adekunle Idris and had constituted a probe panel to investigate the activities of the Idris led executive .
NAN reports that the ASUU-LASU congress of about 140 members earlier passed a vote of confidence on the Idris-led executive and recognised them as the authentic executive. (NAN)