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Tag: Lecturer

  • Sex-for-mark Scandal: ASUU hails suspension of indicted lecturer

    The Obafemi Awolowo University branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has commended the management of the institution for the indefinite suspension of Richard Akindele, the professor at the centre of the leaked sex-for-mark audio scandal.

    Reacting to a statement from the office of the Vice-Chancellor, Eyitope Ogunbodede, on Thursday, the union’s chairman, Adeola Egbedokun, said the union was satisfied with the prompt action taken by the university on the scandal.

    The university had set up an investigative panel to examine the recorded phone conversation between Mr. Akindele and a female student identified by the panel to be Monica Osagie, in which the former was demanding sex to alter the student’s grade.

    “ASUU commends the administration for the step taken towards ensuring sanity in the system,” Egbedokun said

    “ASUU OAU reiterates its commitment to defending the integrity of the code of conduct of the university and to upholding its ethical standards.”

    The union admonished its members to always adhere strictly to the “code of conduct guiding their appointment in the university as they carry out their lawful duties”.

    Akindele was found culpable of serious misconduct by the investigative panel and recommended for indefinite suspension pending further action at the conclusion of the investigation.

  • Sex-for-mark scandal: Police may be involved in probe – OAU VC

    Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, the Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU), has disclosed that the school management may involve the police to clarify a telephone conversation implicating the institution professor demanding sex from a female student.

    Ogunbodede revealed this while speaking to Punch in Osogbo on Sunday.

    A yet-to-be identified female student at the university last week released a telephone conversation between her and the professor where the latter was heard demanding five rounds of sex from the student to upgrade her mark from 33 to a pass.

    The VC said although the university had not reported the case to the police, it might involve them to get to the root of the matter if investigation ran into a hitch.

    He said, “We have a committee that is investigating the matter now and we gave them one week to submit their report. If we run into any hitch, we can use all the resources available to get to where we are going. But once things are running smoothly, we may not need to involve the police.

    “But we must first identify those involved and where they are; if we have any problem doing that, then that is when the university will invite the police.

    “The committee’s one week will elapse by Wednesday. We will brief you about it. I need to state that we have excellent relationship with the police, the DSS and others.”

    Meanwhile, a professor, who is a former colleague of the embattled don, has said that the audio recording may not be strong evidence to nail the lecturer.

    The professor, who did not want to be identified, said the female student was a blackmailer seeking to destroy the lecturer because of her “brainlessness and laziness.”

    He said, “I have thought again on the audio recording and I want you to examine this: there is no portion in the audio recording where the name of OAU was mentioned.

    “This is a major issue and therefore, I am sure that OAU may not own the audio for legal reasons. It will be difficult to address this matter in court when the chips are down.

    “The audio is not a brilliant recording because many necessary ingredients that can expose such matters are missing in the audio.”

  • Nigerian lecturer renounces citizenship over ‘social injustice’

    Nigerian lecturer renounces citizenship over ‘social injustice’

    Victor Koreyo, a lecturer at the Department of Ceramics and Glass Technology, Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Unwana, Afikpo, Ebonyi, has declared intention to renounce his Nigerian citizenship for what he called social injustice.

    Mr Koreyo, in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, made available to newsmen in Abuja, said he was demoted for a period of eight years by the management of the institution and urged the president to endorse his request.

    Investigations however revealed that a directive was given by the federal government in 2007 directing all lecturers to produce additional qualification relevant to the job they do.

    It was gathered that the 7th Governing Council of the institution gave Mr Koreyo two years to produce a foreign institution master degree in Ceramic Science and Engineering or he would be dismissed from service.

    Koreyo, from Nasarawa State, said that the management of the polytechnic refused to communicate the information to him in writing.

    He alleged that since 2010 till date, the institution had refused to approve his application for staff development opportunity because the Igbo constituted principal officers in the school.

    He also said that several communications to the institution from the Head of Service of the Federation (HOSF), Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Servicom and host of others, on the issue was in his favour for reinstatement.

    Koreyo also accused the ministry of education of allegedly writing a counter-directive letter to the rector to disregard the government directives issued by the HOSF and AGF.

    According to him, this is social injustice that is not in line with the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “I love to continue as citizen of this great nation on earth.

    “But since I do not have the financial power or connection to challenge the Rector to obey the federal government’s directives in my favour, I decided to take this peaceful action.

    “I believe this peaceful action and step of honour will prevent the rector from killing me by premeditated frustration of my constitutional rights to social justice as the citizen of Nigeria.

    “I have nursed this feeling of suicide to end these eight years of frustration by the Rector and officials of the Akanu Ibiam Polytechnic division of tertiary education department of the Federal Ministry of Education.

    “And have decided the renunciation of my citizenship by birth will be the best way to peacefully end my quest for social justice at the ministry of education and finally resign from Federal Public Service of Nigeria,” he said.

    However, a staff of the ministry of education, on condition of anonymity, said that the ministry was already looking into the matter.

    According to him, the matter is also before the newly constituted council of the institution.

    He urged Koreyo to be patient as the new council would resolve the problem.

    “I just got to know that the new council was already handling the matter and it is a national issue.

    “The federal government has constituted a body to look into this problem because it is a general problem and not peculiar to him alone.

    “A directive was given to some staff to go and acquire more knowledge and those that brought their master degrees in relevant disciplines were upgraded.

    “But in his own case, where he got his masters is not relevant and is not in line as at that time.

    “I want to say that the matter is before the new council so he should exercise patient,” the Ministry source said.

    Meanwhile, the authorities of Akanu Ibiam Federal polytechnic, Uwana in Afikpo noted that the decision of the institution was in compliance with the directive of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE),

    Edmond Oyeneho, a former chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Akanu Ibiam Federal polytechnic, Uwana chapter, told newsmen in Afikpo that the institution was acting on instruction.

    According to him, NBTE in 2007 introduced a policy aimed at ending the dichotomy between polytechnic and University education in Nigeria.

    He said the policy, which upgraded the course content of Polytechnic education to be at par with University education, also mandated lecturers in Polytechnics without Master degrees in their core areas to upgrade.

    He explained that the policy took about three years before its implementation started across Polytechnics in Nigeria.

    He noted that many lecturers in the polytechnic system, who had fallen short of the new requirements had to enroll for either Master in Science or Master in Arts degrees programmes in their core areas.

    “At the expiration of the three years grace period all Polytechnics in Nigeria including Uwana implemented the policy by demoting all lecturers in the system without Master’s in their core areas to lecturer 1.

    “Those who went and remedied their situation came back and were reinstated to their former positions.

    “Koreyo was therefore in line with the policy demoted from the senior lecturer position he previously occupied to lecturer 1 because of his failure to upgrade his situation.

    “He is a lecturer in the department of Ceramics and Glass Geology but he went to Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), to do a Master degree programme in Management Project and was awarded Master Business Administration (MBA).

    “The academic programme did not fulfill the NBTE requirement because MBA is a professional programme, while Master of Science (M.Sc) is an academic qualification required to teach in Polytechnics and universities,” Mr Oyeneho said.

    Mr Oyeneho, a senior lecturer in the Department of Public Administration and Director, Internally Generated Revenue in the institution, criticised Mr Koreyo’s threat to denounce his Nigerian citizenship.

    He said that the institution would not be blackmailed and forced to reinstate him to his former position in disregard to existing policy direction.

    “He is not alone in the situation and it will be a disobedience to existing NBTE policy to isolate him for preferential treatment.

    “The MSc programme was sponsored by TETFUND with N5 million study grant and affected lecturers receive their full monthly salary throughout the duration of the academic programme,” he added.

     

  • OAU VC speaks on sex-for-marks scandal

    The Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, has on Wednesday reacted to a leaked audio that shows a professor in the institution demanding sex from a female student to help her pass her exams.

    In a statement he personally signed, the Vice Chancellor, Eyitope Ogunbodede, said the university has begun the process of identifying the person involved. He said the act is a breach of regulations of the university’s code of conduct and anti-sexual harassment policy.

    “In full compliance to all applicable laws, the university has set up a high powered committee to investigate the allegation and submit its report within one week. Anyone found culpable will be dealt with decisively.

    “The university considers sexual harassment as an offence punishable contrary to the code of conduct and anti-sexual harassment policy. The university will never condone such act by any staff or students,” the professor said.

    Also the Chairman of Congress of University Academics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Niyi Sunmonu, said if it is established that the leaked audio is true, the perpetrator is not fit to be in academic environment.

    “Lecturers are expected to mould the lives of students,” the lecturer said.

    Also, the national coordinator of Educational Rights Campaign, Hassan Soweto, condemned the act, saying previous sexual harassment cases in the university were not properly dealt with.

    While speaking on a radio program, Frank Talk, on Rave 91.7 FM, Osogbo, the activist, a former student of the university, called for an independent panel that should include elected representatives from staff unions, students and women NGOs.

  • Varsity wields big stick, dismisses lecturer for altering results

    Varsity wields big stick, dismisses lecturer for altering results

    The Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, said the authorities of the school has dismissed an unnamed lecturer, allegedly for altering students’ results.

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru, who made this known in Sokoto on Saturday, but declined to mention the affected lecturer’s full details, or the full details of his offence, said “management of the university took that drastic action to serve as a deterrence to others.

    “The action is to remind academic and non academic staff of the university of what might happen if they try such an act.

    “We will not hesitate to wield the big stick on any staff found wanting for any infractions in this regard.

    “The university has no fewer than 30,000 students and the guidelines are there for all to follow. We will not compromise the set standards.”

    Vice Chancellor Zuru also sounded an emphatic note of warning to students that the authorities of the school would not also tolerate examination malpractice and vices, stressing that the university would not tolerate any ill behaviour.

    He warned students to conduct both their academic and extracurricular activities in line with laid down rules and regulations of the school, or be sanctioned accordingly.

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  • I earned more money as lecturer than RCCG G.O – Adeboye

    I earned more money as lecturer than RCCG G.O – Adeboye

     

    The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, (worldwide) Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, has revealed that before he took up the mantle of leadership from the founder, Pa Josiah Akindayomi, he was richer than the ministry even as a university lecturer.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Adeboye took over the ministry in 1981 following the demise of Pa Josiah Akindayomi.

    The G.O said the church’s total income then was about half of his salary as university lecturer.

    The reverred man of God disclosed this while ministering during a three-day special programme to end the church’s 40-day fasting and prayer period at the Redemption Camp.

    The G.O maintained that the ministry was not financially buoyant before he came on board.

    In his words, “When God called me into full time ministry, I must tell you the truth, I was afraid because things were rough. I knew poverty when I was young but I became a university teacher with the belief that my days of poverty were gone.

    “When God asked me to leave my job to become a full-time pastor, the total income of the church was less than my salary and we were to share it among some 39 people.

    ‘’I was really afraid but God gave me one promise. He said do not worry my son, I will be with you. If you are wondering why my case is different, it is because God told me that He will be with me and He has been faithful to His promise.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the lecturer turned preacher has helped grown the church he inherited with just few members to a global church with members all over the world.