Barely Nine months into his tenure as acting Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Ibadan (UI), Professor Adebola Ekanola has joined the vice chancellorship contest of Nigeria’s premier varsity.
Ekanola’s application was among the 14 applications received at the close of the six-week advertisement for the position of VC of the university, last week Thursday.
The 13 other applicants are among the 18 candidates that applied during the aborted process.
Meanwhile the entry of Prof. Ekanola into the race is already unsettling some camps and bringing up some fresh permutations in the University.
The UI council led by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun had in July, 2021 directed that a fresh process towards the appointment of a substantive VC should commence, while cancelling the previous exercise that was stalled due to crises.
The Precision NG recalled that the crises began during the end of tenure of the former VC, Professor Idowu Olayinka. Then the Senate of the University on the behest of the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on November 30, 2020, elected Ekanola, the
then deputy vice chancellor (academics) to serve as acting VC for a six-month tenure, which was extended for another six months to end in November 30, 2021.
Details of the applications show that the acting VC, Prof. Ekanola will be contesting with 10 out of the 11 applicants from the institution that also applied for the aborted process.
Only Professor Kolapo Hamzat of the Physiotherapy department of the university that is not in the race this time.
Others in the race are Professors Kayode Adebowale of the department of Chemistry; Abideen Aderinto of Sociology department; Olusegun Ademowo of the Institute of Medical Research and Training (IMRAT); Ebenezer Farombi of Biochemistry; Temitope Alonge of department of Orthopaedics and Trauma and
Oluwabunmi Olapade-Olaopa of the department of Surgery.
Others who have filed applications are Aderemi Raji-Oyelade of English department; Oladele Layiwola of the Institute of African Studies; Clement Kolawole of the department of Arts and Social Science Education and Babatunde Salako of department of Medicine.
There are three applicants from other universities.
They are Professors Olufemi Mimiko of the department of International Relations,
Obafemi Awolowo University; Hakeem Fawehinmi of the University of Port
Harcourt; and Rasaq Kalilu of the department of Fine and Applied Arts, Ladoke Akintola University of Tech- nology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso.
As part of the process, the university has invited nominations for congregation and senate representatives on the search team for the appointment of the next vice chancellor.
Registrar of the university, Olubunmi Faluyi, who made the call for nominations, in a release, said the call for nomination spans this week’s Monday to Friday, while urging eligible persons to pick up their nomination papers.
This is to be followed by verification of the congregation register, while e-voting for congregation representatives on search team and special meeting of congregation will be held on September 2.
Also, Senate representatives on the search team for the appointment of the next
vice chancellor are expected to be two members of the Senate who are not members of council, one of whom shall be a Professor.
*additional reports from Tribune.
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