The Federal Government has today inaugurated the Special Visitation Panel to handle the crisis rocking the University of Lagos, following the dismissal of its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, and the suspension of the Chairman of the University’s governing council, Wale Babalakin.

The panel is expected to conclude its assignment and submit its report within two weeks.  

Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who inaugurated the panel headed by Prof Tukur Sa’ad, on behalf of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), cautioned the members against interference with the university management’s activities.

Adamu enjoined the stakeholders in the university to fully cooperate with the panel and to allow it to work unhindered as he said:

“Councils are to lay down policies while managements are to implement them, but over the past one year, the ministry has been inundated with complaints and correspondences from the management and the governing council of the University of Lagos as well as the National Assembly, on the lingering governance issues in the institution, including allegations of financial infractions and breach of responsibilities.”

The Minister reemphasized on what he said about a month ago when he inaugurated the reconstituted governing councils of 13 federal universities, chairmen and members of the council, stressing that the panel must ensure that it does not mingle with the daily administrative activities of their respective university managements.

Adamu who also expressing regrets over the UNILAG crisis, noted that the face-off had persisted dwspite several interventions by the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Education, stakeholders and the National Universities Commission which led to the removal of the VC by the governing council during its meeting on August 12, 2020.

Adamu mentioned that rather than alleviate the situation, the appointment of an acting VC further worsened the catastrophe prompting the president to set up the visitation panel. In his words,

“Due process was alleged not to have been followed in the removal and appointment of the vice-chancellor and the acting vice-chancellor, respectively.

“This led to the widespread protests, outright rejection, and lack of acceptability of the acting vice-chancellor by the university community.

“The President and Visitor to the University, after due consideration of the report of the crisis in the university, particularly the polarization and unhealthy relationship between the vice-chancellor and the chairman and pro-chancellor and some members of the governing council, approved the constitution of a seven-man Special Visitation Panel to the institution.”

The minister made it known that the panel was expected to submit recommendations towards repositioning the institution to its pride of place in the Nigerian university system.

Members of the panel headed by Sa’ad, include, Victor Onuoha; Prof Ikenna Onyido; Prof Ekanem Braide; Prof Adamu Usman; Chief Jimoh Bankole and the Secretary, Grace Ekanem.

The panel chairman however gave the assurance that the panel would strictly stick to its responsibility, noting that the members would justify the confidence reposed in them by the president as the panel was expected to review the report of the governing council’s Sub-Committee on Review of the Expenditure of the University of Lagos since May 2017 and make appropriate recommendations, after giving all those indicted an opportunity to defend themselves amongst other functions the panel is to perform.