Students of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State, have accused the university management of manipulating the recently concluded Student Union Government (SUG) elections in favour of its preferred candidates.
In separate interviews with PUNCH Metro on Monday and Tuesday, several students expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the election held on May 24, 2025, alleging that the university compromised the integrity of the process to benefit loyalists.
A student identified as Ajayi claimed that the electoral guidelines set by the committee were blatantly ignored.
“There was clear favouritism and injustice,” he said. “The election was scheduled to run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. but was delayed until 12:30 p.m. due to technical issues. Around 5:00 p.m., when our presidential candidate was leading, they announced an extension without explanation, and extended it again from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.”
Ajayi added that at a point, students could no longer monitor the results online as the voting page displayed an ‘Error 504’ message. “Even with VPNs, we couldn’t access the portal. The election should have ended by 6:00 p.m., according to their own extension,” he said.
Another student, Ola, echoed similar concerns, alleging that the university’s ICT team and management were involved in manipulating results across multiple offices. “They rigged not just the presidency,” he claimed. “Initially, voting required a one-time password (OTP), but when it was clear our side was winning, they suddenly dropped the OTP requirement. The rules were changed mid-process.”
Ola called for a rerun of the election, urging the university to adhere strictly to its own guidelines.
Remi, a student from the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, accused the management of marginalization and last-minute interference with vote counts.
“This isn’t the first time the university has manipulated elections in favour of their candidates,” he said. “The election started hours late, and was extended multiple times without proper communication.”
He added that the malfunction of the OTP system affected many students.
“OTPs weren’t delivered. Ten of us went to the situation room in Ado to report it, and were told it would be resolved. We even suggested removing the OTP, but were told the rules couldn’t be changed. Yet, near the end, the OTP was suddenly dropped, and the portal shut down.”
According to Remi, at 5:55 p.m., their candidate, Olaleye Temitope Oluwagbemiga, was leading by 13 votes.
“Just two minutes later, the portal failed, and shortly after, it was announced that his opponent had won by 19 votes. We were shocked.”
However, the Dean of Student Affairs, Professor Wasiu Oyedoku-Ali, dismissed the allegations as baseless. Speaking with PUNCH Metro on Tuesday, he acknowledged that technical issues occurred but insisted that due process was followed in addressing them.
“These claims are unfounded,” he said. “For the first time in years, the acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olubunmi Shittu, ensured the election was not tampered with. In addition to oversight by the ICT Director, additional checks were introduced.”
Oyedoku-Ali explained that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) chairman and a monitoring team were involved in supervising the election.
“There were delays due to high traffic from students voting simultaneously,” he said. “Initially, the VC insisted on keeping the OTP to protect student data. However, after protests, a meeting was held with candidate agents and stakeholders. Out of 29 present, only three opposed suspending the OTP.”
He maintained that all decisions were made transparently and in consultation with relevant parties.
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