The Governing Council of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), has cleared the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi Fasina, of sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by a senior lecturer, Mrs. Folasade Adebayo.
Following weeks of investigation, the council directed Adebayo to tender a written apology within seven days for raising what it described as a baseless claim intended to blackmail the vice chancellor.
In a statement signed by the university’s Registrar and Secretary to the Council, Mr. Mufutau Ibrahim, on Wednesday, the council revealed that it reviewed audio recordings submitted by the accuser and found no evidence to support her allegations.
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“The alleged audio recordings were listened to by all council members with the assistance of a translator, and it was discussed exhaustively,” Ibrahim said.
He added, “Members held that there was no sexual harassment, which equally confirms the earlier investigation by the Nigerian police, where Adebayo made a statement that she was not sexually harassed.”
The FUOYE council concluded that the recordings were instead used to pressure Prof. Fasina into confirming Adebayo as the substantive Director of Works and Services—an appointment the VC had no authority to make.
“Council directed that Adebayo be warned for bringing the name of the university to disrepute,” the statement read. “She is directed to write a letter of apology to the council within seven days.”
The governing body also expressed displeasure with the university management over the decision to backdate Adebayo’s promotion to 2015 in 2024, describing the move as improper. The council directed that the promotion be reviewed and warned the management to avoid similar irregularities in the future.
It further announced that the positions of Director of Physical Planning and Director of Works and Services would be openly advertised.
In February, Afrocover reported that the council had set up a committee to probe the allegation after repeated pressure from the FUOYE chapter of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).
To allow for impartial deliberation on the committee’s findings, the vice chancellor was asked to recuse himself from the council meeting.
