There seems to be no end in sight to the Management crisis in the University of Lagos, as the Chairman of the Council, Wale Babalakin has disclosed the reason why the erstwhile Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe was sacked.
Babalakin during a briefing with Journalist, accused Ogundipe of Financial mis-appropriation, and asked the appropriate Government agencies to investigate Ogundipe.
The Council Chairman accused him of not following existing guidelines as it concerns managing the resources of the University.
“For instance, Ogundipe, without the approval of the Governing Council, renovated his official quarters for N49 million, and also approved N41 million for the Bursar to renovate his official accommodation too. This is against the regulations of the University.
“ The Financial guidelines of the University of Lagos give the Vice Chancellor the power to spend, not more than N2.5 million in some instances, without the approval of the Governing Council, and anything higher than that must be brought to the Council for approval.
“This is unacceptable. He must be investigated. We need to do that for us to start building the University. I can tell you that when we probed the account of the University, it was in tatters.
Babalakin also added that Ogundipe forged the University’s document, and manipulated the process for the appointment of the Director of Works of the University.
“Under the law of the University, it is the Vice-Chancellor that chairs some Committees. There was this vacant position of the Director of Works of the University and some people applied. Some from the Lagos State Polytecnic came first in the selection interview conducted. However, Ogundipe changed the final results of the applicants to favour his choice.”
Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) UNILAG Chapter, and the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Universities in Nigeria (CVC) kicked against the removal of Prof. Ogundipe.
Prof. Ogundipe, on his part, has gone to court to seek legal redress on the matter.
