The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Lagos zone, has appealed to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to reinstate the five “unjustly dismissed” lecturers of the Lagos State University, Ojo.
ASUU made the call during a protest on Tuesday in solidarity with their members at LASU, citing their exoneration by the Governing Council.
The coordinator of the zone, Prof Adelaja Odukoya, during a press briefing before the rally, stated that the alleged victimisation of the legitimate ASUU leaders at LASU had been a public issue, ongoing for about seven years.
ASUU branches from various universities, including the University of Lagos, Kwara State University, University of Ilorin and Tai-Solarin University of Education, were represented at the rally.
The union members carried placards with inscriptions such as: ‘Dear Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Dr. Tony Dansu’s Contributions to Education are Invaluable, Reinstate Him and Others,’ ‘Let Justice Prevail.’
Other messages included: ‘LASU is a Beneficiary of ASUU Struggles, Recall Our Staff’ and ‘Recall the Sacked ASUU-LASU Five.’
The protesters marched peacefully around the Ojo campus.
Between September 2017 and September 2019, five executive members of ASUU-LASU were dismissed by the previous Governing Council on account of charges brought against them by the administration of a former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lanre Fagbohun.
Odukoya said, “In 2018, Drs. Tony Dansu, Adeolu Oyekan, and Oluwakemi Aboderin-Shonibare sought legal action to challenge trials initiated by their university, fearing illegal dismissal similar to what Drs. Isaac Oyewumi and Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu experienced in 2017.
“The court ruled that the university had no authority to act against union officers under the Freedom of Information Act and other laws. However, the court refrained from judicial review, as no harm had yet occurred, but urged both parties to adhere to legal protocols.”
Despite this, the university proceeded with the trials and dismissed the ASUU-LASU leaders.”
Odukoya explained that after Fagbohun’s administration, the dismissed union leaders sought legal redress, supported by ASUU’s national leadership, which also imposed sanctions on LASU.
He added that when the current VC, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, assumed office, the university’s Governing Council revisited the dismissals, saying on February 23, 2022, the Council reviewed its Committee on Grievances’ report, deemed the dismissals unjust, and ordered the immediate reinstatement of the five ASUU officers.
Odukoya pointed out that the implementation was allegedly halted following directives from the state secretariat, Alausa, pending the outcome of a Visitation Panel that completed its report in September 2022.
He said, “Since then, ASUU has made several appeals to Governor Sanwo-Olu, the Visitor to LASU, to release the White Paper from the visitation report and lift the unjust embargo on the reinstatement of the wrongfully dismissed comrades, as exonerated by the Governing Council.
“Unfortunately, the governor has remained indifferent. Key questions now arise: What are the ASUU leaders’ offences against Governor Sanwo-Olu, particularly at LASU? Whose interests is the governor protecting by preventing these individuals from returning to their posts?
“How does this unjust denial of livelihood for ASUU-LASU leaders align with the governor’s labour-friendly stance? Even if the White Paper is relevant to their reinstatement, why has the governor failed to release it two years after the Visitation Panel’s report?
“Is the Visitor attempting to shield the actions of certain individuals implicated in the report? Isn’t it unjust to block the Governing Council’s decision while Lanre Fagbohun has quietly returned to LASU without the panel’s verdict on his tenure?”