The crisis rocking the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) took a dramatic turn on Saturday, as the university students’ union body wrote to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, to disown a petition earlier written by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
The NANS leadership had, in a petition to the Minister of Education dated May 2, 2025, alleged cover-ups of official misconduct and other alleged misconduct against the management and Governing Council of FUOYE, and also mandated the Minister to sack the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina, and the Council members of the University within 72 hours.
However, a letter signed by Abiodun Olorunshola Mary, President, Students’ Union, Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), and Lateef Yusuff Ife, Secretary-General, and addressed to the Minister of Education, and made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, accused the NANS leadership of acting under external influence.
The letter titled: “RE: Formal Disclaimer and Refutation of the NANS Petition Against the Vice Chancellor and Governing Council of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti,” noted that the allegations contained in the said petition neither reflect the realities within the university nor the collective sentiment of the student population.
The letter read: “We have the honour to write to you in our capacity as the duly elected leadership of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), representing the collective voice and interest of the student body across all campuses of our institution.
“It is with a profound sense of responsibility and commitment to truth that we hereby categorically dissociate ourselves from, and formally refute, the contents of the petition recently submitted to your esteemed office by one Comrade Olushola Oladoja, National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
“We wish to state, unequivocally and without prejudice, that the allegations contained in the said petition neither reflect the lived realities within our university nor the collective sentiment of the student population. As the local union with firsthand experience of institutional engagements and administrative developments, we find the petition to be highly misleading, politically coloured, and grossly unrepresentative of actual events and dynamics within FUOYE.
“It is apparent that the current leadership of NANS has, regrettably, allowed itself to become entangled in external manipulations, resulting in the dissemination of unfounded accusations targeting the Vice Chancellor, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, and the broader university administration.
“We view this as a deliberate attempt to malign the leadership of our institution and to destabilise the ongoing progress achieved under their stewardship.”
The students maintained that the allegation of sexual harassment involving Engr. Folashade Adebayo and the Vice Chancellor has been thoroughly investigated by both the Nigeria Police Force and a duly constituted panel of the Governing Council.
The students said, “In both cases, Professor Fasina was exonerated of all allegations, and the findings remain in the public domain. As student representatives, we have reviewed the reports and affirm our confidence in the integrity and transparency of the investigative processes.”
The FUOYE students also dismissed other issues raised in the NANS petition, urging the Minister to disregard the petition submitted by the NANS leadership, as it is devoid of credibility, factual merit, and legitimate representation.
They urged Dr. Alausa to recognise the Students’ Union Government of FUOYE as the authentic and democratically elected voice of the student body within the institution and to uphold the findings of the Governing Council’s investigative panel as the legitimate basis for decision-making on all matters.
