OSPOLY: I Was Not Aware Of Any Petition, Complaint Against Me – Odetayo

Ismaeel Uthman

Dr. Tajudeen Odetayo, the suspended Rector of Osun State Polytechnic OSPOLY, Iree, has disclosed that he was not aware of any petition or complaint against him from any quarters.

Odetayo, in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER on Wednesday, said he only received a suspension letter from the Ministry of Education, insisting that nobody ever contacted him on any allegation. 

He said he was confident that he did not commit any infraction either financially or through conduct. 

“I was not aware of any petition or complaint against me. The only thing I saw was the suspension letter from the Ministry of Education. Nobody ever told me anything. I am confident that my hands are clean, I never committed any infraction either financially or through conduct.

“I did not read any politics to my suspension. I don’t even think of it. I believe in God and I have faith in Him on the case. God is in control”, Odetayo stated. 

The state government, through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. A Jimoh, announced Odetayo’s suspension on Monday in a letter dated July 11, 2023, a copy of which was obtained by OSUN DEFENDER on Monday. 

The letter partly read, “You are hereby suspended as the Rector of Osun State Polytechnic, the sequel to the strong allegations of financial recklessness, corruption, misappropriation of fund, abuse of office among others.

“You are to proceed on suspension immediately, while the investigation into the allegations leveled against you commences soon.”

The government subsequently appointed Mr Kehinde Adeyemi Alabi as Acting Rector of the institution. 

Odetayo’s suspension sparked protest and reactions from staff and students of the institution and members of the public. 

Majority of the commentators on the suspension accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of nepotism, alleging that he suspended Odetayo to pave way for Alabi, an indigene of Ede, to head the polytechnic. 

Alabi had contested for Deputy Rector of the institution and got nine votes in an election held on June 22, 2023. 

The incumbent Deputy Rector, Dr Gboyega Oyeleke, had 51 votes. 

As early as 7am on Tuesday, members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic shut the OSPOLY campus gate in protest against Odetayo’s removal. 

The chairman of ASUP in the institution, Dr. Fatai Afolabi, expressed discontentment over Odetayo’s suspension.

Afolabi described the suspension as an aberration, saying there had never been a committee set up to investigate the rector let alone find him guilty of any offence before he was asked to vacate his seat.

He stated further: “The governor appointed someone who is not qualified as the Acting Rector of the institution. The person that the governor appointed contested for the post of deputy rector and he lost out.

“We have a deputy rector on ground who should replace the rector when removed, that is what the guidelines say, and in the absence of the deputy rector, the most senior chief lecturer will be appointed as Acting Rector.

“The person that was appointed as Acting Rector does not have a rank from 1-50 in the ranking of Chief Lecturer. The only thing that qualifies him is that he is from Ede.

“The governor is nepotistic with appointments and dealings in Ospoly. The governor wants to put Ede indigenes everywhere in the school which is not possible. Is it only Ede that voted for him? Everybody voted for him.

“Dr Odetayo who was removed was alleged of corruption among others, he was never made to face any panel or inquiry, he was never issued query.”

Afolabi said it was possible that Odetayo was suspended because he did not manipulate the deputy rector election to favour Alabi, the appointed acting rector. 

He said: “The main reason for his (Odetayo) removal was that he was invited by the Chief of Staff to the governor, Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye, who instructed him to make the person they appointed as Acting Rector now to emerge as the deputy rector.

“The order given to the rector was beyond his capacity, a deputy rector is elected by the senior workers. During the election, the anointed candidate of the Chief of Staff got 19 votes while the winner, the most senior chief lecturer on campus, got 51 votes.

“The state of things in OSPOLY now is that all academic activities including the ongoing exam stand suspended until the governor does the right thing.”

Meanwhile the state government has sued for peace, assuring ASUP and students of the institution that the matter would be looked into and necessary measures taken. 

The government in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, said the Governing Council of the institution will investigate the allegation against Odetayo and take appropriate action as soon as possible.