Personal interests behind calls for my removal – FCE provost

The embattled Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Dr Wahab Azeez, says those calling for his removal from office had personal interests.

“Those behind the crisis are doing it to frustrate me so that I can resign, but I stand for justice,’’ Azeez told the News agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

NAN reports that a lingering protest in the college turned violent on Tuesday resulting in the closure of the institution by the Federal Government.

The protest was by some students and staff of the college.

Some aggrieved members of staff of the institution had been calling for the removal of the provost who, they claimed, elongated his tenure.

“The institution has been shut down and students asked to vacate the campus,’’ he said.

NAN reports that the leadership crisis started in May, when some aggrieved staff under the aegis of Concerned Staff, claimed that the tenure of the provost had ended, asking him to step down.

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They said that the provost was appointed in 2019 for a four-year term and it elapsed on May 26, 2024.

According to them, President Bola Tinubu, in June 2023, signed a law pegging the tenure of provosts of colleges of education at a single term of five years.

However, Azeez claimed that the law did not affect him.

The provost said that he had already started a second term in office before the law was signed.

Some students, teaching and non-teaching staff of the college, on Tuesday, staged a violent protest when members of the college’s Governing Council led by Dr Adenuga Olatunde were to hold a meeting with both parties in the conflict.

The protesters destroyed some official cars, insisting that Azeez should not enter the college’s premises