FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
Newly inaugurated Governing Council of Ambrose Alli University, AAU, Ekpoma, Edo State has announced Professor Samuel Olowo as the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the school.
The appointment of Professor Olowo, Provost of the College of Medicine, followed the sack of the erstwhile Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Sonnie Adagbonyin by the authorities on Wednesday, August 28.
Confirming his sack in a tense letter to the Senate of the University yesterday, the former acting vice-chancellor said he will step aside next week and hand over the reins of power to Professor Olowo.
Adagbonyin, who was appointed acting vice chancellor on February 8, following the removal of Professor Benson Osadolor, wrote that his removal by the Governing Council was as a result of a transition plan for the university towards the appointment of a substantive vice-chancellor.
He continued: “I want to thank each and everyone of you that rendered me support in various ways which made it possible for my team and I to make our modest contributions to the development of Ambrose Alli University, even as we navigated the turbulent waters.”
A source close to the local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, which had among other suggestions, hinged a return of normalcy to the crisis ridden school to the sack of Professor Adagbonyin and other acting principal officers, expressed hope that the exit of the acting vice chancellor will pave way for a peaceful resolution of the hydra headed problems confronting the university.
The source, who did not want his name in print, said due to his high handedness, teachers and other workers at the state owned tertiary institution heaved a sigh of relief when news of his exit filtered into the campus.
