As Accurately Predicted By The Oasis Reporters Nov. 28, Prof Ekanola Emerges Ibadan Varsity Acting VC With 275 votes
The Oasis Reporters
November 30, 2020
When University of Ibadan Senate convened in the morning of November 30, 2020, one main agenda was up for debate and consideration, being the last working day in office for Professor Abel Olayinka as Vice Chancellor of the 72 year old citadel of learning in Ibadan City, South West Nigeria.
For he must leave office at all costs as his tenure expires and there’s no second term.
Many accuse him of lacking in leadership discipline and people management enough, to organize a hitch free election for a successor knowing that his tenure would end on November 30. Therefore the University would need to compulsorily have to make do with an elected Acting Vice Chancellor, for a period of six months, long enough time to choose a substantive Vice Chancellor.
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When the Acting Vice Chancellorship candidates filed out to pitch their political sales talk and be voted for, the result showed that Prof Adebola Babatunde Ekanola scored 275 votes. At a distant second was
Prof. A. Oluleye who scored 80 votes followed by
Adigun Agbaje, a professor of Political Science and a former Deputy Vice Chancellor, with 15 votes and Prof Gbemisola Oke got 14 votes while Professor Olanike Adeyemo clinched 13 votes.
Read our previous post on November 28, 2020 to get an insight into the bio of Prof. Ekanola.
https://www.theoasisreporters.com/ibadan-varsity-vice-chancellorship-with-a-stalemated-election-prof-ekanola-will-emerge-acting-vc-on-dec-1/
This was sequel to the failure of the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Idowu Olayinka, to hand over to a successor on Tuesday Dec. 1, 2020 when his five- year tenure must have ended due to crisis that rocked the selection process of a new helms man in the premier University.
Those that were in the race for the acting Vice Chancellorhip position, which must not be more than six months period, included Prof. Ayo Oluleye, a former Dean of Technology and a Professor of Industrial Engineering.
Also, a former Deputy Vice Chancellor and a Professor of Dentistry, Mrs Gbemisola Oke, also joined in the race.
Equally amongst them in the race was a professor of Political Science and a former DVC, Adigun Agbaje.
Another contestant in the race was the former Economic Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, an Economist, Prof . Kashy Garuba.
The fifth contestant was Prof Ambrose Ayelari, a former DVC from the department of Agronomy.
The Senate made it’s pick of the favoured candidates for the acting Vice Chancellorhip dousing the tension generated by the appointment of the new Vice Chancellor since July 2020.
Investigation however revealed that the University community felt favourably disposed to a neutral and non- controversial candidate that will be able to sail through the transition process and hand over peacefully.
Meanwhile, ahead of the end of tenure of the outgoing Vice Chancellor on Monday, all the major unions in the institution slated a Thanksgiving service for Monday at 9am to celebrate the end of an era.
It will be recalled that the outgoing Vice Chancellor Idowu Olayinka had been having running battles with the Unions since inception of his tenure in 2015.