A group, the Coalition of Ondo State Indigenes Against Corruption, COIAC, has called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to shine a searchlight on the alleged unethical activities of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences, UNIMED, Ondo town, Prof Adesgun Fatusi.
During a protest at the Governor’s Office, the group disclosed that the university, under the leadership of Fatusi, has been gasping for survival over alleged corruption and highhandedness.
According to the protesters, being stakeholders in the state, they would not allow the institution to be left in ruins.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Feyi Emmanuel said that due to the
urgency of the issue, they came all the way from Ondo town to Akure, the state capital, to express their displeasure over the state of the university and to inform the governor over the development.
While emphasising that the institution at present was in a sorry state, Emmanuel said, “UNIMED is our institution of pride in Ondo State. It is the foremost leading institution in the country in the field of medicine and other relevant medical courses.
“We are sorry to report that an institution Prof. Fatusi inherited has become a sorry state. The institution needs to be rescued from the grip of Fatusi. Prof. Fatusi’s only mission is to leave the school in ruins.
“Our demand is simple. Fatusi must go. He has wrecked and crippled the institution financially. Mr. Governor, we urge you to urgently intervene and sack Fatusi.
“He has rendered our people jobless by ensuring that 70 percent of UNIMED staffers are non-indigenes. We demand that the financial status of UNIMED be investigated because we know UNIMED is in bankruptcy. UNIMED council members are all contractors. He is an administrative vampire and lacks managerial ability.”
Reacting to the development, the spokeswoman of the institution, Isaac Oluyi, described the allegations as spurious and attributed them to the handiwork of detractors who lacked understanding of how universities work all over the world.
“This is the first specialised university of medical sciences in Nigeria that has grown by leaps and bounds under Professor Adesegun Fatusi with visible evidence in terms of accomplishments.
“We invite the whole world to come and see for themselves. Results do not lie. The footprints of Professor Fatusi in terms of remarkable achievements are there even for a blind man to see.
“How can anybody say that a university ranked as the 4th best university among the state-owned universities in Nigeria under Fatusi is in ruins? This is completely laughable!”