UNILAG crisis: Visitation panel submits report to FG

…as Babalakin resigns

The special visitation panel set up by the Federal Government to investigate the management crisis rocking the University of Lagos (UNILAG), has submitted the report of its findings.

This is as the suspended chairman of the governing council of the university, Wale Babalakin has resigned from his position.

His resignation was confirmed on Thursday by his media aide, Mikail Mumuni.

Businessday gathered that his resignation was a pre-emptive action taken to forestall the call for him to be sacked from the council. Though the government is yet to officially come out with its decisions on the panel’s report, it was learnt that both Babalakin and the embattled vice-chancellor, Toyin Ogundipe, may not come back to the office.

The minister of education, Adamu Adamu, received the report on behalf of the Federal Government in Abuja on Thursday.

Adamu said the recommendations of the panel would be thoroughly scrutinised with the aim of full implementation.

Shortly before presenting the report to the minister, the chairman of the panel, Tukur Sa’ad expressed optimism that the report of the panel would bring an end to the crisis that has festered in the university over the last one year.

The submission comes three weeks after the Federal Government inaugurated the panel to resolve the lingering crisis facing the institution. While setting up the panel on August 26, Adamu warned members against interfering in the activities of the university management.

He encouraged the stakeholders in the university to fully cooperate with the panel and to allow it to work unhindered.

“Councils are to lay down policies while managements are to implement them, but over the past one year, the ministry has been inundated with complaints and correspondences from the management and the governing council of the University of Lagos as well as the National Assembly, on the lingering governance issues in the institution, including allegations of financial infractions and breach of responsibilities,” he said.