The Governing Council of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) has decided to suspend its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina, in light of sexual harassment allegations made by a senior official at the university, Engr. Folasade Adebayo.
This suspension was officially announced by the university’s Registrar and Secretary to the Governing Council, Mufutau A. Ibrahim, in a statement released on Monday. The statement indicated that during an emergency meeting held online on April 14, 2025, the Governing Council reviewed Prof. Fasina’s request to take his accumulated Annual and Research Leave. They approved a six-month leave, amounting to 126 working days from his total entitlement of 228 days, effective from the same date.
Furthermore, the Council appointed Prof. Olubunmi S. Shittu, the current Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academics and the most senior among the three Deputy Vice-Chancellors, as the Acting Vice-Chancellor for a period of six months, starting April 14, 2025.
This decision follows a recent expression of strong discontent from the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, regarding the previous handling of the allegations by the Council. Sources indicate that the minister was quite upset that the Council appeared to have dismissed the sexual harassment claim and had suggested that the complainant apologize to the Vice-Chancellor.
In response to the minister’s concerns, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), the Chairman of the Governing Council, called an emergency online meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Monday. During this meeting, the members made the decision to suspend Prof. Fasina. However, it is reported that the Vice-Chancellor requested to be allowed to take his accumulated leave instead of being directly suspended.
In the meantime, Prof. Samuel Olubunmi Shittu, a Professor of Soil Science and the current Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), has been appointed as the Acting Vice-Chancellor.