News
Disengagement Of Staff: EKSU Sets The Record Straight
The management of Ekiti State University (EKSU) has reacted to the media reports on the disengagement of some staff that occurred last year in the insititution.
According the the head, directorate of information and corporate affairs, Bode Olofinmuagun, ” most reports in the media are laced with lies.”
The statement is reproduced below :
The attention of the Management of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti has been drawn to various negative reports in the media concerning the disengagement of staff exercise that took place in the University late last year.
The media reports have been full of lies aimed at misinforming and misleading the general public in order to attract unnecessary emotion and sympathy.
Initially, the University Management did not want to react to the tissues of lies by joining issues with the sponsors of the media attack. However, it has become imperative to give the general public the correct facts of the matter so that such negative media reports would not continue to mislead the public.
It is not true that only those employed in 2016 were disengaged as being rumoured. Among those that were disengaged were staff that were employed before and after 2016, who were found guilty of one form of misdemeanor or the other.
Also, many of the disengaged staff were employed without the approval of Council and without budgetary provision. It was crystal clear that the former Vice Chancellor, Professor Sam Oye Bandele was recklessly recruiting staff into the University without recourse to the principle of due process neither did he take cognisance of the financial situation. It is on record that the former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Ayo Fayose had to intervene and ordered that the process be stopped until other shenanigans played out which reverted the former Governor’s directive.
It was evident that the former Vice Chancellor was using deductions for cooperative and tax from salaries of old staff (engaged before 2016) to pay net salaries rather than remitting such deductions to the cooperative societies and the Ekiti State Inland Revenue Service (EKIRS). In other words, old staff were not receiving their full salaries, whereas those recruited from 2016 – 2018 were being paid using deductions from the salaries of the old staff. Curiously, the 2016 – 2018 staff deliberately did not join any cooperative society thus receiving their full salaries at the detriment of the old staff. Moreover, where Council gave approval for the appointment of a certain number of staff, the former Vice Chancellor increased the number by multiple folds. In some cases, Council directed that Technologists be redeployed, but he (the former Vice Chancellor) ignored the directive and recruited new Technologists. The effect was an avoidable astronomical increase in the wage bill of the University.
The monthly deduction plus tax is about #210 million, whereas about # 310 million is required to pay net salaries. He was committed to the payment of net salaries which led to the accumulated debt of billions of Naira owed the various cooperative societies on campus.
Thus, the deductions from January 2018 to December 2019 stood at about 4.2 billion Naira but, with the efforts of the current Governing Council headed by Prof Bamitale Omole and the Management led by Prof Edward Olanipekun, about 2.5 billion Naira had been paid as deductions as at January 2020, leaving a balance of about 1.7 billion Naira.
The decision to disengage those staff, though painful was taken by the Governing Council and not by the Visitor to the University & Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi in order for keep the University afloat, else if the decision was not taken, the University would have been shut down by now.
It is unfortunate that the name of the current Vice Chancellor’s wife is being dragged into the matter as one of the staff that ought to be affected by the disengagement exercise. For the information of the general public, the Vice Chancellor’s wife was one of the 156 staff that were recruited by the Governing Council under the leadership of Prince Adedayo Adeyeye. All the 156 members of staff had Council approval unlike those that were illegally recruited by the former Vice Chancellor. It is a known fact that the current Vice Chancellor, Prof. Edward Olanipekun, is an apostle of due process and will never be involved in any act of illegallity. Therefore, dragging his name or that of his wife into it is needless and indeed an exercise in futility.
The University is ready to do the needful in line with the memorandum of appointment of the affected staff. At the moment, the government subvention plus the Internally Generated Revenue of the University are not sufficient to retain the disengaged staff particularly in areas where their services are not required .
The University Administration, under the leadership of Professor Edward Olanipekun will leave no stone unturned to make sure that it attains a world class status.
The raging controversy over the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti- Uduaghan has attracted yet another legal action following a suit by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio over the failure to reverse her suspension.
It is the contention of SERAP that “the patently unlawful suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, is based solely on the peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression.”
In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/498/2025, Akpabio is sued for himself and on behalf of all members of the Senate.
The Senate recently suspended Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months, after she reportedly ‘spoke without permission’ and ‘refused her new seat in the Senate chamber.’
Her salary and allowances have also been withheld for the duration of the suspension, and she has been barred from identifying herself as a senator.
Before the Abuja division of the Federal High Court, the group is seeking: “an order of mandamus to direct and compel Mr Akpabio to rescind the unlawful suspension of Mrs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, reinstate her, and fully restore all her legislative rights, entitlements, and privileges.”
An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Senate from further suspending or taking any disciplinary action against Mrs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan solely for the peaceful exercise of her fundamental human rights.”
SERAP is equally seeking “a declaration that the application of sections 6(1)(2) of the Senate Rules, the Senate Standing Orders 2023 (as amended), to suspend Mrs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan violates her human rights and deprives her constituents of their right to political participation.”
It noted that given the impracticality of direct participation of all citizens, article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights provides that a citizen shall exercise political power either directly or through freely chosen representatives.”
“The suspension of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Senate has restricted and seriously undermined the ability of the residents of her Kogi Central Senatorial District to effectively participate in their own government.”
“The Senate has the obligations to uphold the rule of law and the provisions of section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and Nigeria’s obligations under article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
“Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] provides that, ‘(1) Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.’
“Under Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights: ‘1. Every individual shall have the right to receive information. 2. Every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law.’”
“Article 19(1) of the Covenant establishes the right to freedom of opinion without interference. Article 19(2) establishes the Senate’s obligations to respect and ensure ‘the right to freedom of expression,’ which includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, either orally or in writing.”
“The Senate Standing Orders 2023 (as amended) should not and cannot set aside Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s right to express herself and disseminate her opinions which is clearly guaranteed in section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], and under the human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
Amnesty International has condemned the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)’s threats and intimidation of a corps member, Ushie Uguamaye, who criticized Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for inflation and economic hardship.
In a ‘X’ post, the group stated that it is her right as a citizen to express her unhappiness peacefully, while also asking the government to focus on addressing the issues she addressed rather than threatening to delete the video.
“It is perfectly within her right to express discontent peacefully. Instead of threatening her for her opinions on rampant inflation, the authorities should be prioritizing addressing the country’s economic woes,” Amnesty said.
The Lagos-based corps member expressed fear about claimed threats following her viral video criticizing President Bola Tinubu’s government.
In a video posted to her TikTok account #talktoraye on Saturday, Uguamaye voiced displeasure with Nigeria’s deteriorating economic situation, stressing that hard work becomes fruitless in the face of financial difficulties.
She openly lambasted Tinubu, describing him as a “terrible leader” and criticizing the government’s efforts to ameliorate citizens’ suffering.
Shortly after her video gained traction, Uguamaye alleged that she began receiving threats, reportedly from NYSC officials, pressuring her to take down the content.
“Dear Nigerians, they have my address. In case you guys don’t see me online, please you know who to hold accountable. I didn’t do anything wrong; I just asked that they work on the inflation.
“Why can’t I speak up? Being an NYSC corps member doesn’t mean I signed up my right to complain,” she said.
Amnesty, meanwhile, in their post, said millions of Nigerians are facing extreme poverty, which aligns with her post on TikTok, urging the government to find measures to urgently address it.
“Millions of people in Nigeria are facing extreme poverty. So far, the authorities have failed to put in place effective mitigation measures, leaving millions of people without the hope of getting out of the economic challenges and enjoying their human rights,” the group said.
The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Damagun, has dismissed reports of his resignation, labeling them as false and a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.
In a statement on Saturday, his Personal Assistant, Nuru Shehu Jos, clarified that Damagun remains in office, and the party’s constitution guarantees the National Chairman a four-year term.
The PDP also denied claims that Arise News was the source of the false resignation report, urging the public to ignore the misinformation.
The party warned those spreading the rumors to desist or face legal action, calling on members and stakeholders to remain united as the PDP strengthens its position ahead of the 2027 elections.
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