The Management Council of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), on Wednesday, appointed 45-year-old Professor Adefemi Afeez Bello as Acting Vice-Chancellor of the institution.
Bello will act pending the appointment of a substantive VC as tenure of Professor Laboode Popoola, who is the current VC, would end on November 4, 2021.
The acting VC, Professor Adefemi Afeez Bello, a Professor of Geotechnical Engineering was appointed after a council meeting on Tuesday, 2nd of November.
This was made known during a press conference on Wednesday by the chairman of the council of the institution, Malam Yusuf Ali SAN.
According to Ali, the appointment was made after three-man committee furtherance set up – chaired by Professor Solomon Akinboye – recognised that the University have two Deputy Vice-Chancellors, namely Professor Anthony Kola-Olusanya, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Research, Innovation and Partnership (ARIP); and Professor Adefemi Afeez Bello, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration and Development.
The Committee, therefore, recommended Professor Olusanya, as the Acting Vice-Chancellor, being the senior Deputy VC by appointment but the Don rejected the appointment on personal ground.
The chairman of the governing council during the press conference told journalists that the council then appointed Professor Bello, as the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University, effective from 5th November 2021.
Ali further stated the reason for the delay of the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor for the institution due to an injunction from an High Court of Justice, Osun State.
Crisis trailed the advert released by the institution for position of the VC. The advert was alleged to have been tilted towards a result as medical professors and those in humanities immediately kicked against it.
The Council, according to Ali, is well aware of the impending end of the tenure of the incumbent VC advertised for the position in three national dailies and the website of the University.
“In the said advert, we insisted on the possession of some matrixes by would-be applicants. Some stakeholders were not comfortable with those matrixes and the Council, thereafter, resolved to make an addendum to the initial advertisement to address the concern. From the timetable approved by Council, the appointment process ought to have been completed in the 2nd week of October 2021.
“However some members of the University community that felt aggrieved by the content of the advert filed legal action before the High Court of Justice, Osun State, to ventilate their grievances.
“It must be stated that at the close of the time of submission of applications, 13 Professors had submitted applications. Due to the challenge of the process in court, the Council of the University, as a law-abiding body, suspended and put on hold all the steps, actions and activities for the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor,” Ali stated.
Recall that Professor Popoola, was elected by the Council and the Visitor to the University at the time, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, accordingly approved his appointment as the 3rd Vice Chancellor of this University and subsequently assumed duty on the 5th November 2016.
