The Acting Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Prof. Olubunmi Shittu, has said that he would be fully committed to the completion of the various projects initiated by the Vice Chancellor (VC)), Prof Abayomi Sunday Fasina, who has proceeded on an accumulated leave of six months, ahead of the end of his five-year tenure as the University’s helmsman.
Shittu, a professor of soil science and the Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) Academics of FUOYE, was on Monday appointed by the Governing Council to take charge of the affairs of the University in acting capacity for a period of six months, after approving the request of Prof Fasina to proceed on his accumulated annual and research leave.
In an interview with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Prof. Shittu said: “We want to improve and build on all the good works our Vice Chancellor has started so that at the expiration of this administration we can have a lot to show that these are the things we have been able to do. Some of the projects that are yet to be completed, we hope to look at them, and do whatever needs to be done in order to have the projects completed, so that Prof Fasina’s administration will continue to be a reference point in the years to come.”
The acting VC disclosed that the University’s Governing Council has directed that a reconciliation committee be set up to look into all contentious issues that needed to be resolved for the smooth running of the affairs of the institution.
“The Council has mandated that a reconciliation committee be constituted that will be made up of internal and external members of the Council. A seven-man committee to be constituted as approved by the Council that will look into the issues on ground in the University.
“There is going to be a meeting with stakeholders, the Directors, Deans, Heads of units, whereby they will guide us on the way forward to navigate the challenges that we need to tackle.
“We are also going to create an avenue for people to lodge their complaints and express their grievances which will be looked into by the reconciliation committee.
“One of the things we want to do is that we want to have a community whereby both the staff and students can relate freely without any problem. We intend to meet with the student union executives to keep them abreast of useful information for the purpose of carrying them along. We have been having a regular and stabilized system. We don’t want anybody to destabilize the regular calendar that we have maintained in the University,” Prof Shittu stated.
Story by Michael Jegede, a journalist in Abuja
