ASUU chairman in FUOYE escapes impeachment

Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) chapter, Dr. Akinyemi Omonijo, yesterday escaped impeachment.

According to the members, he defied the congress and held a press briefing where he misrepresented events that took place in the university, especially the issue of infrastructure.

He was also accused of refusing to implement the decision of congress, which mandated him to exhaust all internal settlement mechanisms before reporting the institution’s management to ASUU zonal branch or addressing the press.

By his actions, the chairman was said to have misled the zonal ASUU, while the zone in turn misled ASUU National Executive Council (NEC).

They further accused him of misleading the Federal Government who, after reading reports from the “un-authorised” press conference, wrote FUOYE management, demanding explanations on the state of affairs in the university.

However, ASUU sources in FUOYE said that Omonijo, who got wind of his planned impeachment, abruptly cancelled a scheduled congress slated for Wednesday.

The members, who bluntly rejected the excuse of insufficient chairs for congress members adduced for the cancellation, accused ASUU of colluding with Omonijo to prevent his impeachment, which they said was imminent and would have been executed at the parley.

The members reportedly told the leader of the zonal ASUU team, Prof. Olu Olufayo, that they were prepared to endure any condition to hold the meeting.

Some members of the chapter, who spoke to The Guardian shortly after the members dispersed, also accused the parent body of shielding the chairman from answering questions on some unilateral and illegal decisions he allegedly took without the authority of congress, which they claimed brought embarrassment to them and the university’s management.

However, members who sang solidarity songs and left the venue reluctantly, vowed to hold another congress within one week. They also advised the zonal chapter to stop meddling into matters that should be strictly decided and resolved within.