Reinstate sacked Rector, MURIC tells governor Adeleke – Newstrends
Connect with us

News

Reinstate sacked Rector, MURIC tells governor Adeleke

Published

2 years ago

on

Executive Director of the Muslim group, Professor Ishaq Akintola

Reinstate sacked Rector, MURIC tells governor Adeleke

An Islamic human rights advocacy group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has condemned the sack of Osun State Polytechnic rector Dr. Kola Odetayo by Governor Ademola Adeleke.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the Executive Director of the Muslim group, Professor Ishaq Akintola, described the rector’s sack as an anomaly, a gross aberration and one act of impunity too many.

The full statement reads, “Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State yesterday sacked the rector of the state’s polytechnic, Dr. Kola Odetayo. He was immediately replaced with Mr. Kehinde Alabi Adeyemi, who is from Ede, the same town as the governor.

“MURIC totally condemns Governor Adeleke’s action. It is an anomaly, a gross aberration and one act of impunity too many. The appointment of Kehinde Alabi Adeyemi is an abuse of due process because, ceteris paribus, the deputy rector should be the next choice when a rector is removed according to the polytechnic’s rules.

“The governor had wanted the sacked rector to influence the election which was held to pick the deputy rector to favour his kinsman, but this was impossible as his kinsman was unpopular. He scored 9 in the election and came third behind Oyeleke, who scored 51 and was declared winner and deputy rector.

“Instead of the governor to ratify this election and approve the appointment of the winner as deputy rector, he raked trumped up charges against the rector, sacked him and picked the man who came third in the election as rector. Who does that?

READ ALSO:

“The man who won the election and became the deputy rector should have been made to act as rector if indeed the latter had to be suspended. But the governor bent over backwards to pick the man who came third. This is an exhibition of vested interest. Adeleke is a tyrannical ruler. He will plunge Osun into unimaginable crisis.

“Already, the polytechnic is boiling. Students are protesting against the governor’s erratic choice. The association of polytechnic lecturers have also declared an industrial dispute based on the governor’s disregard for the result of their election. By bypassing the result of a properly, freely and democratically conducted election, Adeleke has exposed himself as an enemy of democracy, a dictator and a totalitarian enforcer. Osun State is in the hands of a misfit.

“The sacked rector holds a doctorate degree. He is therefore eminently qualified as rector whereas the man picked to replace him is among the lowest chief lecturers. The only consideration is that he is from Ede, the governor’s town. It is therefore a manifestation of nepotism of the highest order.

“The list of acts of nepotism under Governor Adeleke is now as long as River Mississippi. He made his late brother’s wife a commissioner. Another woman appointed commissioner has a relationship with the Adeleke family.

READ ALSO:

“A fresh graduate of the Adeleke family was appointed chairman of the Local Government Service Commission. Adeleke (jnr) is the governor’s nephew, the son of governor Adeleke’s elder brother and the late governor of Osun state, Isiaka Adeleke.

“This governor allocated around 31 juicy posts, including 7 permanent secretaries to Ede. Again without bashing an eyelid, Adeleke ensured that 6 out of the newly appointed 30 special advisers are from Ede town, his country home. Already, the leader of the lecturer’s union in OSPOLY has accused Adeleke of wanting to put Ede indigenes everywhere in the school. Nigeria never had a worst governor.

“If Governor Ademola Adeleke does not win the nobel prize for nepotism, his name will definitely enter the Guiness Book of Records for acts of impunity, abuse of due process and reckless infringement on decorum.

“Before we drop the anchor, we assert that we are not unaware that Mr. Kehinde Alabi Adeyemi, the man who was wrongfully and illegally appointed as rector, is a Muslim. But that is neither here nor there. There is open injustice here. We will rather eschew sentiment and settle for merit and justice. We therefore demand the immediate and unconditional reinstatement of the sacked rector, Dr. Kola Odetayo.”

Related Topics:
Advertisement

News

Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

Published

2 days ago

on

March 23, 2025

By

Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) yesterday attributed its neutral position on the recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State to the need to steer clear of taking positions that may alienate members with varying political interests.

Taking positions on contentious partisan issues, the NGF said, would not augur well for it, especially in view of its past experience in fundamental division.

Notwithstanding, the declaration of the state of emergency by President Bola Tinubu yesterday generated more kudos and knocks from across the country.

Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, said the action of the president was meant to ensure protection of lives and restoration of law and order in the state, while the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said his principal  was required  to “avert needless harm and destruction .”

National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, said Tinubu, by his action, cleared what had manifested as a constitutional crisis in Rivers state.

But former President Goodluck Jonathan saw it from a different perspective.

READ ALSO:

He described “abuse of office and power by the three arms of government in the country“ as a dent on Nigeria’s image.

The NGF, in a statement by its Director General Abdulateef Shittu, said it is essentially “an umbrella body for sub-national governments to promote unified policy positions and collaborate with relevant stakeholders in pursuit of sustainable socio-economic growth and the well-being of the people.”

It added: “As a technical and policy hub comprising governors elected on different platforms, the body elects to steer clear of taking positions that may alienate members with varying political interests.

“In whatever language it is written, taking positions on contentious partisan issues would mean a poor sense of history — just a few years after the forum survived a fundamental division following political differences among its members.

“Regardless, the Forum is reputed for its bold positions on governance and general policy matters of profound consequences, such as wages, taxes, education and universal healthcare, among others.”

It asked for “the understanding of the public and the media, confident that appropriate platforms and crisis management mechanisms would take care of any such issues.”

Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

Continue Reading

News

Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi

Published

3 days ago

on

March 22, 2025

By

Chairman of the Senate Services Sunday Karimi

Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi

Chairman of the Senate Services Sunday Karimi has hailed President Bola Tinubu for the decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.

 He told reporters on Friday in Abuja that the President acted in the best interest of the State and Nigeria, having taken his decision in compliance with the Constitution.

“No President or government worth a name, will fold its arms and watch a political situation deteriorate to what we saw unfolding in Rivers State.

“We saw that bombing of pipelines had begun, and the security situation was getting worse with the tension everywhere”, Karimi stated.

Karimi, who represents Kogi-West on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), recalled the “fatherly role” Tinubu had played in the crisis since 2023 in a bid to get the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara to reach an understanding, to no avail.

He explained: “We were all here in 2023 when Mr President called that truce meeting at the Aso Rock Villa. There was the eight-point agenda for settlement reached between the factions.

“When Nigerians expected that progress should be made to achieve peace, things started deteriorating considerably to a point where the governor demolished the House of Assembly building and administered the state with only three legislators.”

READ ALSO:

Karimi observed that with the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, which gave the upper hand to the 27 lawmakers loyal to the camp of the FCT Minister, matters merely got worse in the State as the lawmakers were set to impeach the Governor.

“What did you expect would be the implications? There would have been more destruction, killings and economic losses for the country.

“With the bombings that had already started, it was a matter of time before the whole state would be engulfed in flames. No responsible President would sit, arms folded, and allow that to happen “ he added.

The senator further argued that it took “painstaking efforts” by the administration to raise daily crude oil production to around 1,800 barrels, noting that Nigeria’s economy was already “witnessing a rebound under the renewed hope projects of the government.”

“Allowing the situation in Rivers to get worse before he would act, wouldn’t have helped the state or Nigeria as a country in any way.

“Mr. President intervened at the right time, and his actions are covered by law,” he said.

Karimi also spoke on the emergency declaration  in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and a couple of other states by former President Goodluck Jonathan without removing the Governors from office or suspending the state assemblies.

According to him, the case with those States was not generated by political crises but rather security concerns.

“So, I will advise those comparing the two scenarios to remember that one was purely about security threats resulting from the insurgency caused by Boko Haram, while that of Rivers is clearly political.

“It was the proper thing to do to suspend the political actors in the two factions to allow for tensions to diffuse. Nigerians should appreciate the President for the action he has taken so far,” he stated.

Sen. Karimi also noted that there was no cause for alarm as the National Assembly had indicated that the emergency rule could be reviewed as soon as there were signs that things could quickly normalise in Rivers State.

 

Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi

Continue Reading

News

Just in: Tinubu swears in Rivers Sole Administrator Ibas

Published

5 days ago

on

March 19, 2025

By

Just in: Tinubu swears in Rivers Sole Administrator Ibok-ete Ibas 

President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Vice Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas (Retd.) as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.

The administrator was sworn in on Wednesday after a short meeting with the President.

Tinubu announced the appointment of the retired naval chief at a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, when he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly members.

The President said his decision was based on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, saying he could not continue to watch the political situation in Rivers escalate without taking concrete action.

The suspension of Fubara and other elected representatives has been rejected and condemned by many eminent Nigerians, legal luminaries, groups such as Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Femi Falana, the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Nigerian Bar Association.

However, the emergency rule has been praised by the pro-Nyesom Wike Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule, accusing Fubara of contravening the Supreme Court ruling on the political situation in the state.

Ibas was the Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021.

He is from Cross River State where he had his early education.

The new sole administrator went to the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1979 from where he proceeded to have a successful career in the Navy, rising through the ranks to the very top.

He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and the Nigerian Institute of Management.

President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed him as Chief of Naval Staff conferred him with the National Honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 2022.

Continue Reading

Trending