Barring last-minute change of plans, the Osun State House of Assembly will today (Thursday) amend the Osun State University Establishment Act to allow for the Vice-Chancellor to spend two years extended period.
InsightMedia reported that Governor Ademola Adeleke on Monday announced two-year extension to the tenure of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor, Professor Clement Adebooye.
The announcement generated reaction as it contravenes the existing law of the University.
Public Relations Officer of the institution, Ademola Adesoji, while speaking with InsightMedia hinted that the Governor said he has formalised the process but denied awareness of amendment to the law.
Sources familiar with the development has confirmed that baring last-minute change, the Parliament has been directed to amend the law to accommodate the extension.
“The law will be amended on Thursday. The House has resumed and has been asked to amend the law immediately. The amendment will be done on Thursday,” the source, who crave anonymity told InsightMedia on Wednesday night.
The amendment is expected to scale through all reading and be passed during the plenary today.
The UNIOSUN Establishment Act in its First Schedule, section 3 sub-section 6 pegs the tenure of a VC to five years without option of renewal.
The section reads, “The Vice-Chencellor shall hold office for a term of five yeers, and shall not be eligible for re-appointment. His terms and conditions of service shall be embodied in a contract under the seal of the university.”
CSO comdems extension, vows protest
The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Good Governance (CCSOGG) has condemned the extension of the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor.
In a statement by Declan Ihekiare and Olalekan Johnson, the group said it has “watched with profound concern and growing indignation the announcement by the Executive Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, purporting to extend the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN).
“We state without equivocation that any attempt to extend the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor outside the provisions of the law establishing the University and the applicable laws, regulations and standards governing university administration in Nigeria is illegal, unacceptable and must be resisted by all lovers of education, democracy and the rule of law.
“The issue at stake goes beyond one individual or one Vice-Chancellor. It concerns the future of institutional governance in Nigeria. If the tenure of a Vice-Chancellor can be extended through executive pronouncement outside the law, what then becomes of the statutes and procedures designed to protect our universities from arbitrary political interference?
“Osun State must set the standard for democracy, constitutionalism, institutional integrity and good governance, not become an example of how political authority can be used to undermine established laws.
“Our hope and expectation remain that Osun State will continue to move forward as a model of democratic governance. But democracy cannot thrive where laws are selectively observed and institutions are subjected to arbitrary decisions.
“We therefore make it abundantly clear that the Coalition will mobilise every legitimate democratic and civic instrument available to ensure that any illegal extension of the tenure of the UNIOSUN Vice-Chancellor does not stand and does not see the light of day.
“This is not a threat against any individual. It is a principled defence of the rule of law. UNIOSUN belongs to the people of Osun State, not to politicians.
“The law must prevail. Institutional integrity must be protected. Political patronage must not replace due process.”
Professor Adebooye’s current tenure is expected to end on January 4, 2027.