A major demonstration, led by youth groups, erupted at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), on Monday, with hundreds of protesters calling for the immediate suspension of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abayomi Fasina, over allegations of abuse of office and financial recklessness.
The demonstrators, comprising members of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) and the Southern Nigeria Youth Congress (SNYC), stormed the university campus carrying placards that declared, “Professor Fasina must go,” and “Stop the rot in FUOYE.” The protest comes amid heightened tensions regarding the transparency of the university’s governance and its use of public funds.
Addressing journalists at the campus, Comrade Segun Bankole, the Chairman of the NYCN in Ekiti State, accused the university’s top leadership of turning the institution into a breeding ground for misconduct. Bankole stated that he had submitted a formal petition to President Bola Tinubu, copied to anti-corruption agencies, alleging that the university had been “hijacked by a cabal” that had “weaponised governance for personal enrichment.”
The most serious allegations centred on the brazen misuse of university finances and the neglect of necessary academic improvements. The protesters particularly condemned the Governing Council, led by Senator Ndoma-Egba, for allegedly flouting ministerial directives by moving all key meetings and the ongoing Vice-Chancellorship selection process to Abuja. Bankole claimed this move was resulting in the waste of millions of naira on unnecessary travel allowances rather than investing in campus infrastructure.
Comrade Emmanuel Aladejare, the Ekiti Chairman of the SNYC, singled out a specific expenditure that had shocked the academic community. Aladejare questioned the staggering approval of N128 million for a research leave granted to the Vice-Chancellor, describing it emphatically as a “gross aberration, misnomer and unheard of in academic history.” Furthermore, Aladejare alleged suspicious property acquisitions valued at over N700 million by top university officials, insisting that the institution had been reduced to an arena for “financial recklessness, nepotism, and administrative impunity.”
The economic angle of these allegations suggests a serious impediment to regional development. As a federal institution, FUOYE is expected to channel public funds into producing highly skilled graduates and conducting research that boosts the state’s economy. The alleged diversion of millions of naira into wasteful travel, excessive allowances, and personal property acquisitions means that money meant for expanding laboratories, improving libraries, and offering better support to students and staff is being squandered. This neglect directly stifles the university’s capacity for innovation, making it less likely to attract vital research grants and private sector partnerships. This, in turn, impacts the wider Ekiti economy by producing less competitive graduates and limiting the institution’s potential to become a regional economic engine. The youth leaders also lamented the alleged marginalisation of Ekiti indigenes in the university’s workforce, claiming many were only engaged as contract staff on meagre stipends, further depressing local economic opportunities.
In addition to demanding the immediate suspension of Professor Fasina and the removal of Senator Ndoma-Egba, the protesters insisted that the current selection process for a new Vice-Chancellor must be suspended, calling it a predetermined exercise designed to install a successor who would continue the alleged cycle of corruption. They demanded a full forensic audit of the university’s finances and property acquisitions dating back to 2021, and urged the President to intervene decisively to prevent the complete collapse of FUOYE. Only a firm, transparent, and immediate action, they argued, can restore lawful governance and allow the university to fulfil its mandate to the nation.
