The suspended Deputy Dean of Student Affairs at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Dr Banji Olaleye, has claimed his suspension over alleged extortion was orchestrated long before the investigation, alleging that the university’s current administration had been seeking his removal since February.
The school’s spokesperson, Dr Sunday Saanu, said on Sunday that “those claims are false.”
The university management had announced the suspension of Olaleye alongside the Director of the Directorate of Educational Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Olanrewaju Ogunjobi, and the Students’ Union Government President, James Adio.
The university said a petitioner accused the trio and others of extorting students through the unauthorised collection of N1,000 from each 100-level student.
However, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Sunday, Olaleye maintained that his suspension, which came before the commencement of the investigation into the allegations, was part of a calculated attempt to tarnish his reputation.
According to him, the current administration had made it clear from the outset that it did not want to work with him because of the belief that he did not support the emergence of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor.
“We have had a new administration since February. Since then, the present administration has always told people that it doesn’t want to have anything to do with me because it feels I did not support its emergence.
“I am not a kingmaker. I don’t put somebody there as the VC,” he said.
Olaleye explained that he had expected to leave his position as Deputy Dean of Student Affairs at the end of July when the tenure of political appointees was due to expire.
He said the controversy over entrepreneurship fees arose from a disagreement between the Directorate of Entrepreneurship and the Dean of Student Affairs over practical sessions for students, stressing that he had no official role in the programme.
He said his involvement began only after the Dean of Student Affairs, Professor Temitope Babalola, requested that he intervene to resolve the dispute between the directorate and student leaders over the collection of N1,000 from students.
According to him, following meetings with the Students’ Union Government and faculty executives, he contacted the Director of Entrepreneurship, who explained that the fees were being collected directly from students because funds meant for practical sessions were not released by the university management on time.
Olaleye said he was thereafter asked to help ensure that class representatives remitted the money already collected to the directorate.
He said that after directing student leaders to recover outstanding funds from class governors, about N2.5m was recovered.
According to him, the Director of Entrepreneurship later instructed that N1m should be paid to student representatives as appreciation for their support, while the remaining N1.5m should be transferred to “a designated account provided by the Directorate of Entrepreneurship.”
Olaleye said he merely conveyed the resolution by the directorate and ensured money in the custody of class governors was retrieved.
“Meanwhile, my involvement was after the Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre mentioned that he had approval, and he even spoke with the VC on maintenance to undergo it at the directorate.”
He added that he was later invited before an investigative panel over allegations of extortion despite having only facilitated the recovery and remittance of the funds.
According to him, the panel initially questioned claims that students received only N35,000 instead of the approved N1m but later confirmed that the students had indeed received the N1m.
“I said, ‘How can I give the students N35,000 out of N1m? The N1m had been communicated to them. There is no way you can spend students’ money.’ Eventually, they confirmed that the students got the N1 million.”
Despite this, he said he was suspended on June 10 alongside the Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre and the SUG president.
He also alleged that other staff members who directly handled the funds were excluded from the investigation.
Olaleye further faulted the university for announcing his suspension while investigations were still ongoing, saying the development subjected him to public ridicule.
“My name circulated over something they had not been able to investigate. They had not finished their investigation.”
He maintained that he had never collected or diverted students’ money and insisted that the allegations were being used to justify a decision already taken against him.
“I never had any issues with any student. I never collected any money. There is no way you can find any offence against me. Instead, I support students with my own personal money.”
Olaleye also questioned the disciplinary process, noting that he was issued a query five days after he had already been suspended.
He said he responded to the query, appealed the suspension and petitioned the Chairman of the Governing Council, asking the university to allow the investigation to be concluded before taking disciplinary action.
He added that the reinstatement of the suspended SUG president had further raised questions about the basis of the sanctions.
“The SUG president has been called back. They have reinstated him. People started asking, if this is the student who really spent the money, then what is the offence of the staff who tried to protect the interest of the management?”
Meanwhile, a senior member of the school management who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution told our correspondent that the management had been misled by the probe panel.
“The office where Olaleye belongs was only called to intervene in the crisis. His office even advised the Directorate of Entrepreneurship to seek other means to fund the said practical.
“The Deputy Director (Olaleye) has been intervening in similar cases. So based on that, it was against that background that he was directed to intervene.
“Let me just put it this way. The members of the panel that investigated have had issues with students in the past. It’s like telling somebody’s enemy to be the judge in the case. So definitely, they will mislead the system.
“They definitely misled the system. I see this more as… the members who conducted the investigation actually misled the university on this matter.”
Reacting to the allegation, the Director of Public Relations of FUOYE, Saanu, however, dismissed the allegations, insisting that the university’s actions were based solely on its anti-extortion policy and not on political considerations.
According to him, since the current Vice-Chancellor assumed office, the administration has made it clear to all stakeholders that misconduct, particularly the extortion of students, would no longer be tolerated.
He said the policy was endorsed by the university Senate and later strengthened by the Governing Council, which approved the dismissal of any lecturer found guilty of extortion.
He added that Heads of Department and Deans who fail in their oversight responsibilities would also face sanctions.
Saanu maintained that a prima facie case had been established against the lecturer before disciplinary measures were taken, adding that the matter was reviewed by the university’s management committee, where it was resolved that the Dean should also be sanctioned because leadership carries responsibility for misconduct under its supervision.
He rejected claims that the suspension was linked to the lecturer’s alleged opposition to the emergence of the Vice-Chancellor, describing the allegation as “blackmail.”
“The evidence against him was overwhelming. The university set up a committee, and the committee established that he was culpable. It found that he directed that money be collected from students,” Saanu said.
He also referenced a previous case involving the immediate past Students’ Union president, Alao, saying management decided to pardon him because the practice predated his tenure and opted to treat the incident as a deterrent.
“For this lecturer, however, the situation is different. It has nothing to do with politics or whether he supported the Vice-Chancellor. Many people did not support the Vice-Chancellor, so that allegation does not hold,” he added.
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