The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, chided Governor, Ademola Adeleke for dumping the principal officers of University of Ilesa appointed by his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola.

The opposition party claimed that the governor sacked the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Kayode Ijaduola; the Registrar, Mr. Oluwole Dada and the Liberian, Dr. Adedokun Ojelabi, describing the development as reckless.

The party said the action has further portrayed Adeleke’s administration as one that lacks governance basics, saying, “The immediate past administration of Oyetola had, in November 2022, inaugurated both the University Governing Council and the principal officers before their sudden sack by Governor Adeleke on Thursday.

“It would be recalled that the birth of the university was officially pronounced on Thursday, March 31, 2022 with its establishment bill passed by the Osun State House of Assembly on Monday, August 4, 2022 while it became a legal entity on Tuesday, September 27, 2022 with the signature of former Governor Oyetola and subsequently licensed to operate with immediate effect by the National Universities Commission (NUC) on Thursday, November 10, 2022.

“But Governor Adeleke had claimed that the establishment of the university did not follow due process and as such set up a committee to review the entire process.”

However, while the people of Osun were waiting patiently for the report of the review committee, Adeleke announced Prof. Taiwo Asaolu, who earlier headed the university’s review committee as the Vice-Chancellor.

“He announced other principal officers as follows: Funso Ojo as the Registrar and Amobi Ogunsipe as the Librarian. The new appointees are said to be card-carrying members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun,” APC’s Acting Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement issued by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, in Osogbo, disclosed.

APC further stated that, it was a pity that Adeleke could set out on a wrong footing by politicising appointments of principal officers of a citadel of learning.

Lawal disclosed that he saw no reason why Adeleke should be approbating and reprobating at the same time on the issues having to do with the new university in an apparent show of bitterness and debilitating struggle to rubbish the legacy of his predecessor simply because they share different political ideals.

He reminded Adeleke and his co-travellers that the new University of Ilesa is a creation of the law, which makes his removal of the tenured principal officers duly approved by his predecessor an illegality.

He stated that the management of an institution of higher learning should not only be devoid of political interference but the process of the appointment of such an institution should not be at variance with international best practices.

He continued: “I doubt if the law that established the university grants the state governor the power to remove or appoint the Vice-Chancellor and principal officers of the university without the recommendation of the Governing Council. The process of the appointment of the new principal officers of the university is crude, illegal and stinks to high heavens, as it would be an impossible utopia for it to surmount legal firepower in any court of law.

“The sack is not only reckless but also a bad precedence. It is another further indication that the Adeleke’s administration lacks governance basics. History will not be fair to those who are thinking for this administration as there is hardly a government policy that has been gotten right by the obviously embattled Adeleke government.

“Adeleke has a convincing explanation to make to the parents, guardians and candidates why the precious time, money and opportunity of the supposed first intakes of the University were deliberately bungled by him through the playing of politics of bitterness.”