Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, who was purportedly removed on Tuesday as the vice chancellor of the University of Lagos by the governing council, has asked Mike Ozekhome (SAN), to challenge his “purported removal” in court.
He said his removal did not follow due process and that the council violated the university’s establishment law in its action.
The chairman of council Wale Babalakin and the vice chancellor have been having a fractious relationship in the last one year.
However, the crisis boiled over on Wednesday when the council after an emergency meeting in Abuja sacked Ogundipe for alleged gross misconduct.
Hours later, the council announced the appointment of Theophilus Soyombo, a professor of social sciences, as interim vice-chancellor.
But Ogundipe retorted that his “purported removal” was “mischievous disinformation,” arguing that “the extant provisions of the law were not complied with” by the council in the decision.
The Federal Ministry of Education also said it had not been briefed. The president is the one empowered to sack a vice chancellor.
Ogundipe in a letter to Ozekhome said, “I hereby formally brief you to institute legal proceedings against the council, pro-chancellor of the University of Lagos, and others based on their illegal and unconstitutional act of purportedly removing me from office as the vice chancellor of the University of Lagos.
“I honestly believe that this action was carried out without due process and contrary to the university’s Act and other extant laws governing discipline, suspension and removal of the vice chancellor of the university.”
Ogundipe’s tenure is to end in n 2022.
In the meantime, the Senate of the university has dismissed the sack of the ice chancellor and rejected the appointment of Soyombo as acting vice-chancellor.
The university senate has passed a vote of no confidence in Babalakin.
Babalakin
