ASUU accuses VC of illegal recruitment

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Akure Zone, has accused the Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Prof. Kayode Soremekun, of appointing people into the rank of professors without acquiring Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) certificates.

The body described the action as illegal and flagrant violation of the statute establishing universities.

At a press conference jointly addressed on Wednesday by the chairmen of the four universities that constitute the zone, ASUU’s Zonal coordinator , Prof Olu-Olu Olufayo, demanded the composition of a visitation panel, to be able to establish and unveil how the university was being allegedly mismanaged by the management.

The academic body therefore called on the federal Nigerian government to set up an investigative panel of inquiry to probe the recruitments.

Other allegations leveled against Soremekun were irregular senate meeting, poor staff welfare, corrupt practices in the management of the university’s farm, nonremittance of pension deduction to staff, poor infrastructure in the face of over-bloating students’ population, among others.

However, the vice chancellor dismissed the accusations, describing them as baseless, saying he could not have been held responsible for dearth of infrastructure in the institution.

On the upgrading of a nonPhD holder academic staff to the professorial cadre, Soremekun said: “This is not the first time such would happen. Professors Yemi Osinbajo, Wole Soyinka , J.P. Clark, and the late Chinua Achebe got their professors without PhDs.

“Becoming a professor depends on what you can offer and not about this certificate mediocrity of a thing”.