A constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate, Chief Mike Ozekhome, has faulted the alleged removal of the embattled Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatosi T. Ogundipe.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, in a statement sighted by TheNigeriaLawyer (TNL), said the meeting of the Governing Council of the university was for consideration of the 2020 budget and removal of the VC was never part of the agenda of the meeting

Another reason he gave in faulting the removal is that the VC was denied fair hearing as some votes against the removal were not counted

“the VC was observed by journalists leaving the venue of the meeting with another Council member, Prof Bola Oboh, when they protested in vain that the main issue for discussion at the emergency meeting was not the VC’s investigation or removal which was item 5 on the agenda, but the 2020 budget of the University.

“It is believed that even the Representative of the Federal Ministry of Education, Prince Adetokunbo Adebanjo had also protested the proceedings, and voted against the VC’s removal by WhatsApp message as was directed by Dr. Babalakin (the chairman of Council) even in the absence of the VC.

“One of the issues in contention apart from denial of fair hearing is that the voting process was fundamentally flawed as votes of those who voted against the VC’s removal like Prince Adebanjo were allegedly not counted.” Ozekhome said.

He added that “The UNILAG Act available to us makes it clear that the VC must first be tried by a joint committee of the Senate and Council before any recommendation for his removal is sent to the council for debate and action.

“Even then, the Council cannot remove him without the Senate first concurring, all of which were said never to have taken place at all.”

“The Registrar of the University and Secretary to Council, Oladejo Azeez, had immediately published a “Notice to the General Public on the Removal of the Vice Chancellor University of Lagos”.

He therefore urged the public to disregard the purported removal “Stakeholders of UNILAG and the general public to disregard this mischievous disinformation about the sitting vice Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, who he said still remains the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos” he said

Ozekhome concluded that UNILAG Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has pitched tent with the embattled Vice Chancellor, saying it was “seriously amused by Dr. Wale Babalakin’s charade which purportedly removed the Vice Chancellor of our great University, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe”,

Recall that the sacking of the vice-chancellor was announced at a meeting of the Governing Council of UNILAG held at the National Universities Commission in Abuja on Wednesday.

While seven members of the council were said to have voted for the removal of Ogundipe, four voted against it while one of them voted that he should rather be placed on suspension.

The meeting was chaired by the UNILAG Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of its Governing Council, Dr Wale Babalakin, SAN.

Prof Ogundipe had engaged the services of Mike Ozekhome, SAN to file a suit to challenge his removal from office.

In his letter of instruction dated August 12, 2020 and addressed to Ozekhome Ogundipe that the act of the Governing Council of the university “purportedly removing” him from office was “illegal and unconstitutional”, adding that it was “carried out without due process and contrary to the University Act and other extant laws governing discipline, suspension and removal of the Vice-Chancellor of the university”.