Suspended FUOYE Deputy Dean Claims Conspiracy Behind His Suspension

The suspended Deputy Dean of Student Affairs at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Dr Banji Olaleye, claims that his suspension for alleged extortion was planned well before the investigation started. He says the university's current administration has wanted him out since February.

The university’s spokesperson, Dr Sunday Saanu, said on Sunday that “those claims are false.”

The university management announced that Olaleye was suspended along with Olanrewaju Ogunjobi, the Director of the Directorate of Educational Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and James Adio, the Students’ Union Government President.

They faced accusations from a petitioner who claimed they extorted students by collecting N1,000 from each 100-level student without permission.

In a special interview with our correspondent on Sunday, Olaleye insisted that his suspension, which happened before the investigation began, was a planned move to damage his reputation.

He explained that the current administration had shown from the start that it did not want to work with him because it believed he did not support the current 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 noted that he expected to finish his term as Deputy Dean of Student Affairs by the end of July when political appointees were supposed to leave.

He mentioned that the issue over entrepreneurship fees came from a disagreement between the Directorate of Entrepreneurship and the Dean of Student Affairs regarding practical sessions for students. He emphasized that he did not have an official role in the program.

Olaleye said his involvement started only after the Dean of Student Affairs, Professor Temitope Babalola, asked him to help sort out the disagreement between the directorate and student leaders about collecting N1,000 from students.

He stated that after discussions with the Students’ Union Government and faculty leaders, he spoke to the Director of Entrepreneurship. The director explained that the fees were collected directly from students because the funds for practical sessions were delayed by the university management.

Olaleye said he was then asked to help make sure that class representatives returned the money already collected to the directorate.

He claimed about N2.5 million was recovered after directing student leaders to get outstanding funds from class governors.

According to him, the Director of Entrepreneurship later said that N1 million should go to student representatives as gratitude for their help, while the remaining N1.5 million should be sent to “a designated account provided by the Directorate of Entrepreneurship.”

Olaleye said he just communicated the directorate’s decision and ensured that the money in the hands of class governors was returned. “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 called before a panel over extortion claims even though he only helped recover and remit the funds.

According to him, the panel first questioned claims that students received only N35,000 instead of the approved N1 million but later confirmed that students did indeed receive the N1 million.

“I said, ‘How can I give the students N35,000 out of N1 million? The N1 million 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 along with the Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre and the SUG president. He also claimed that other staff members who managed the funds were not investigated.

Olaleye criticized the university for announcing his suspension while investigations were still ongoing. He said this led to public shaming. “My name circulated over something they had not been able to investigate. They had not finished their investigation.”

He maintained that he never collected or misused students' money and said the allegations were used to justify a decision already made 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 raised concerns about the disciplinary process, saying he got a query five days after his suspension. He responded to the query, appealed the suspension, and wrote to the Chairman of the Governing Council, asking the university to finish the investigation first before taking action.

He noted that the reinstatement of the suspended SUG president raised further questions about the reasons for 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 university official, who asked to remain anonymous, told our correspondent that the management was 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 allegations, the Director of Public Relations at FUOYE, Saanu, denied the claims. He insisted that the university’s actions were based solely on its anti-extortion policy and not on political issues.

He said the new Vice-Chancellor made it clear to everyone that misconduct, especially extorting students, would not be tolerated. He added that the policy was approved by the university Senate and later backed by the Governing Council, which decided to dismiss any lecturer found guilty of extortion.

Saanu said that Heads of Department and Deans who do not carry out their responsibilities would also face penalties. He stated that a strong case was made against the lecturer before any disciplinary steps were taken. He mentioned that the university’s management committee reviewed the matter and decided that the Dean should also be sanctioned because leadership must take responsibility for misconduct under its supervision.

He rejected claims that the suspension was related to the lecturer’s supposed opposition to the Vice-Chancellor's emergence, calling the allegation “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.