By Over the past few days, news have gone viral about the activities of the Pro-Chancellor of Lagos State University, Professor Adebayo Ninalowo.
Last week, an online medium exposed how the Pro-Chancellor, a senior lecturer at the University of Lagos who is also the Chairman of LASU’s governing council uses his position for self-aggrandizement, a situation that has thrown the university community and observers into a frenzy which was only overshadowed by activities marking the ongoing convocation ceremony.
The report revealed that Professor Ninalowo has since used his new position to enrich himself and his cronies amongst several other financial misconducts which has gone unchallenged. From vehicle scandals to dirty financial dealings and even receiving remuneration for personal aides who are non-existent, Ninalowo’s attitude has been nothing close to being honorable.
Checks by BlackBox Nigeria has however shown that most of the allegations leveled on the Pro-Chancellor are not only true but doesn’t even do justice to the high handedness of the corrupt practices of the Professor of Social Conflicts.
“The Pro-chancellor leads like a maximum ruler. His style is simply autocratic and he has even been an albatross to the VC” an insider revealed to BBN in a chat.
It was further gathered that Professor Ninalowo once applied for the Vice Chancellor position in the past but wasn’t considered. BBN also learnt that a few years ago, he applied for a sabbatical leave in LASU during the last VC’s tenure but was turned down because his services were at the time not needed but he held on this grudge which has now made him vow to deal with certain people within the system whom he believed prevented his entry in the citadel in the past.
“He once applied to be VC but was turned down. He now saw this appointment as Chairman Governing Council as opportunity to wreak havoc on the System that once rejected him,” our source who doesn’t want to be named further revealed.
A senior cadre non-academic staff further disclosed to BlackBox Nigeria that the Pro-Chancellor has continued to gag the VC by taking decisions which ordinarily are supposed to have been authorized by the VC’s office.
“Ninalowo is too involved for a Pro-Chacellor,” he added.
BBN was further reliably informed that asides financial misconducts, Professor Ninalowo also overrides the university senate, governing council and the VC turning himself into a generasimo.
“He can unilaterally appoint, promote, suspend, expel or even demote against the decisions of appropriate committees charged with such responsibility.”
An instance was given of a lecturer who teaches in the Faculty of Management Science. Our source claims the Pro-Chancellor singlehandedly made this lecturer who used to head the local chapter of the lecturers’ union a senior lecturer. This decision reportedly tore the faculty apart as both department and faculty kicked that due process wasn’t followed and that the lecturer in question didn’t apply appropriately (Our source claims he didn’t even apply at all but was appointed).
Another insider further reveals that the Pro-Chancellor also threw all caution in the air when a student expelled by the University Senate with the approval of the then Governing Council was unilaterally reinstated by him. The said student has gone on to graduate.
With all these allegations flying around against the man whom many have come to fear and despise in the LASU community, the management appear to be keeping mum as efforts to reach both the VC’s office and the Centre for Information and Public Relations proved abortive. Messages sent to the CIPR unit were also ignored. A staff of the unit who however spoke on condition of anonymity claims the ongoing convocation ceremony has made all administrative staff of the university very busy while revealing that the school management would react in due course.
In a similar development, a retired professor has also questioned the appointment of Professor Adebayo Ninalowo as the Pro-Chancellor of LASU. The Professor Emeritus disclosed to BlackBox Nigeria that it is practically wrong to appoint an active academic as the Pro-Chancellor of a citadel.
“The Pro-Chancellor usually shouldn’t be someone who is still active in academics. They are usually individuals who have excelled in other fields not necessary connected to the university. In fact, a Pro-Chancellor is usually a superintendent to the Vice Chancellor and cannot supersede the VC despite being Chairman of the governing council because his activities are merely oversight functions while the Vice Chancellor remains the chief executive of the university,” he said.
