Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, has summoned the vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), Professor Kayode Adebowale, over an alleged assault, conspiracy and victimisation of a female lecturer in the Department of Microbiology, Dr Adenike Ogunshe.
The committee’s chairman, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, who issued the directive, said Ogunshe wrote a petition to the Senate, asking for reinstatement after her appointment was terminated by the institution about seven years ago.
Ogunshe, in the petition, pleaded with the Senate to compel the university authorities to obey a court judgement which ordered her reinstatement.
The lecturer claimed that the termination of her appointment had deprived her of the opportunity of becoming the first female professor of microbiology in Nigeria.
She, therefore, urged the Senate to invite the vice chancellor and the registrar of the university for questioning.
At the last panel sitting, the committee read part of her petition where it noted that Ogunshe alleged that there was a grand conspiracy against her.
Akinyelure lamented that several invitations sent to the authorities of the university to appear before his panel had yielded no positive results.
He said the Senate might take appropriate sanctions against the vice chancellor if he failed to appear in person before the panel at the next sitting.
“We are warning the vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan to respect the Nigerian Senate as a critical democratic institution. This woman would have been the first professor of microbiology in the whole of Nigeria but she was denied.
“If the authorities of the University of Ibadan failed to appear before the Senate next (this) week and explain why this woman should not be reinstated, we shall recommend sanctions against the institution.’’
