Date: 2017-03-22

The vice chancellor, University of Ilorin, Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali, has described recent allegations against authorities of the university as handiwork of those eyeing his position.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Monday, the vice chancellor denied allegations of financial impropriety leveled against him and his predecessor, Professor Isiaq Oloyede, saying that such practice by aspirants of vice chancellorship position in the university was an age long tradition.

The vice chancellor, who accused a faction of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the University of being brain behind his ordeal, said that the bashings were calculated attempts to smear the reputation that the university had garnered over the years.

"So I won't be surprised as I have been told that it is the tradition of some people, whenever the tenure a vice chancellor is coming to an end they embark on smeared campaigns against him.

"The campaigns are aimed at ushering me out with ignominy instead of saying thank you for the service rendered, they would say 'who told you to do all this?' that to me is not the best way," he said.

"To me the rising tempo of attacks on my administration is a wrong approach to succeed in life. If you want the seat of the vice chancellor, there are laid down procedures by government. You don't destroy somebody in order to occupy his place. You can as well be a fellow good passenger in the bus, so that the bus can get to its destination safely and peacefully and all of you can disembark and go home. But by destroying the same vehicle you want to use to get to your own destination as well nobody will get there.

"And now the latest option is to put our reputation at stake by defaming the famous university of Ilorin and demystifying all the reputation we have garnered over the years. All the allegations that are going round are calculated at undermining all the 17 years of uninterrupted academic calendar the university has earned. That has also undermined all the good and hardworking staff of the university.

"That to me is very unfortunate. In any democratic setting there should be room to allow some idiosyncrasies; allow people to be slightly different and do something different from the majority of the people, so that we can appreciate the skills and talents God has given everybody.

"If you could recollect that same week we had great challenges at the same time. We had the fire incident at out plantation; the CBT crisis and the write-ups all geared towards putting one into confusion to see whether he would not break. I inherited a peaceful university and by the grace of God I will leave university better than I inherited it. We are on course. We have tremendous growth of the university."

On the last year expulsion of UNILORIN by the national ASUU, the vice chancellor said: "They told every university in Nigeria not to associate with us. That in all academic and social matters all other universities in Nigeria should boycott us; that we thought, was not a wise decision because in matters pertaining to education we should be liberal and allowed everybody to interact at whatever levels and exchange academic materials.

"UNILORIN over the last 17 years has been doing things slightly different from the rest of other universities in the country. Though the national Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expelled us from its fold, we have used that time to look inward and focus attention to our tripartite mandate of teaching, research and community service."