Osun State government, on Monday faulted the position of Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities (COPSUN) on the tenure extension of the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Professor Clement Odunayo Adebooye, saying the body lacks constitutional understanding and legal framework.

It is recalled that there had been issues concerning Governor Ademola Adeleke’s decision to extend Adebooye’s tenure, which was recently ratified by the Osun State House of Assembly following the passage of an Amendment Bill, establishing the institution.

The governor attributed the VC’s tenure elongation to his effective leadership of the university, considering academic exploits and infrastructural developments witnessed under Adebooye’s management.

Speaking through his Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, in a statement, Adeleke, who acknowledged COPSUN’s role in promoting sound governance in state-owned universities, said the committee’s position appeared to be based on an incomplete understanding of the constitutional and legislative framework governing UNIOSUN.

The statement noted that “UNIOSUN was established by the Osun State House of Assembly through the Osun State University Establishment Law, 2006, adding that the 1999 Constitution places university education on the Concurrent Legislative List and recognises the power of State Houses of Assembly to establish institutions for university, technological and professional education.”

While stressing that this does not exclude legitimate federal regulation of university standards, accreditation and professional requirements, Adeleke cautioned against conflating such regulatory functions with the statutory governance of a state-owned university.

It reads, “On COPSUN’s reliance on the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Act, 2012, the government said the critical legal question was whether the relevant provisions of the federal law applied to UNIOSUN in a manner capable of overriding the University’s enabling law.

“It acknowledged the constitutional principle that a valid federal law prevails over an inconsistent state law to the extent of the inconsistency, but maintained that the constitutional competence and scope of the federal enactment must first be established.

“The Government also drew attention to the Osun State House of Assembly’s consideration and passage of the Osun State University Establishment Amendment Bill, 2026, saying the development made it inaccurate to portray the matter as a unilateral executive alteration of the University’s governing law.

“It stressed that while the Visitor could not amend legislation by executive declaration, neither could a professional body or staff union legislate through a public statement.”

According to the government, the relevant issue is therefore whether the legislative process undertaken by the State House of Assembly and the subsequent statutory arrangements are constitutionally and legally valid.

The statement further clarified that the VC’s existing tenure runs until January 2027, while the proposed additional tenure is to commence on January 4, 2027, stressing that the arrangement does not retrospectively alter an already completed tenure.