Tuesday saw the Academic Union of Polytechnic, Osun State, Iree, organise a protest at the institution’s entrance, pressing for the immediate reversal of Dr. Tajudeen Odetayo’s suspension from the position of Rector.
Odetayo’s suspension, effective immediately, was communicated to him via a letter signed by Mr. A. Jimoh, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education. Odetayo to up the office as Rector in March this year.
On Monday, a copy of the letter suspending Odetayo, dated July 11, 2023, was obtained in Osogbo, and it contained the following excerpt: ‘You are hereby suspended as the Rector of Osun State Polytechnic, sequel to the strong allegations of financial recklessness, corruption, misappropriation of funds, abuse of office among others.’
‘You are to proceed on suspension immediately, while investigation into the allegations levelled against you commences soon.’
Following his appointment as the sixth substantive Rector of the polytechnic by the previous governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, Odetayo’s position was subsequently reversed by Governor Ademola Adeleke.
The new governor took action against appointments made by his predecessor after the July 16, 2022 governorship election.
The administration, which had earlier suspended his appointment on March 10, 2023, as communicated in the letter from the state Head of Service, Leye Aina, ultimately made a U-turn and reappointed him for a four-year term
The government announced the appointment of Mr. Kehinde Alabi as the acting Rector of the institution, effective immediately.
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Fueled by discontent, ASUP members staged a protest at the institution’s entrance on Tuesday, urging authorities to reverse the suspension without delay
With Mr. Fatai Afolabi, the Ospoly ASUP chairman, at the forefront, the demonstrators remained firm in their belief that the acting Rector, appointed in place of Odetayo lacked the necessary qualifications for the role.
Afolabi, during an interview with journalists, further said, ‘The governor appointed someone who is not qualified as the acting Rector of the institution. The person that the governor appointed contested the post of deputy rector and lost out.’
‘We have a deputy rector on the ground who should replace him if the rector is removed. That is what the guidelines say, and in the absence of the deputy rector, the most senior chief lecturer will be appointed as acting Rector.’
‘The person that was appointed in ranking among the chief lecturers, he is not ranked from one to 50. The only thing that qualifies him is that he is from Ede. The governor is nepotistic with the appointment and dealings in Iree Poly. The governor wants to put Ede indigenes everywhere in the school which is not possible. Is it only Ede that voted for him? Everybody voted for him.’
‘The person that was appointed as acting Rector now contested the post of Deputy Rector and he lost. Dr Odetayo who was removed was accused of corruption among others. He was never made to face any panel or enquiry, he was never issued a query. The main reason for his removal was that he was invited and instructed to make the person they appointed as acting Rector now, the deputy rector.’
‘The order given to the Rector goes beyond the capacity of the Rector because it is by election. When they voted, the government-anointed candidate got 19 votes, while the winner, who is the most senior chief lecturer on campus got 51 votes. The state of things in Iree now is that all academic activities including the ongoing exam stand suspended.’