The Lagos State University branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to constitute a panel of inquiry for the institution.
The union said that constituting the panel, which is a constitutional responsibility of the governor, would unravel so many ‘illegal’ activities in the institution.
The Governing Council of LASU had on Thursday during its 122nd Statutory Meeting approved the sacking of five academic and three non-academic staff members, including the Secretary of ASUU, Dr. Anthony Dansu, and the Assistant Secretary of the union, Dr. Adeolu Oyekan.
In a statement released on Monday by Oyekan, the union claimed they were being victimised for confronting the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Lanre Fagbohun, over alleged illegalities.
The statement noted the LASU law 2004, as amended in 2007, stipulated that there should be a visitation panel, at least once every five years. It described Governor Sanwo-Olu’s constitution of the panel at this time as apt.
The statement read in part, “These issues include the possible collusion of the council and management in the misappropriation of staff pension funds and the wastage of nearly N1bn of NEEDS Assessment Funds since 2014, straddling the previous and present administration.
“Even the chairman of the outgoing council has been fingered in the diversion of the pension savings of staff for luxury cars. Hundreds of millions of naira were taken from the pension funds under the guise of accreditation.
“Others include admission racketeering, substantial non-compliance with the rules in the running of the university in terms of appointments, which has now deeply entrenched the culture of cronyism, the implication of the Vice-Chancellor in age falsification scandal of a notable member of staff, and the status of the Vice-Chancellor himself as a professor of LASU, among others.
“The attack on the union by the Vice-Chancellor and the Governing Council, therefore, is a desperate move to cover up the numerous atrocities and illegalities being perpetrated in the university. This is why the Visitor, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu needs to constitute a Visitation Panel to the university as stipulated by the law. LASU is due for a visitation panel every five years. The last one was in 2009.
“In the meantime, the union is poised to use every means within its powers to challenge these illegal dismissals of its members. The union is also considering seeking heavy costs in damages to serve as deterrence to other public office holders who use the instrumentality of their offices to subvert the laws of the country as well as their enabling statutes, among others.”
The union also complained that its secretariat had been barricaded by security agents allegedly on the orders of the vice-chancellor.