Youths under the auspices of Coalition of Youth for Development and Advancement in Ekiti State have called on President Bola Tinubu to annul the appointment of Professor Joshua Ogunwole as the vice chancellor-designate of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE).

The youths threatened to embark on a 90-day protest, if the demand is treated with levity.

The youths accused the outgoing vice chancellor, Professor Sunday Fashina and the chairman, Governing Council of institution, Senator Ndoma Egba, of allegedly scheming qualified candidates out of the race to favour a preferred candidate.

The youth called on the President to immediately reverse the appointment and saddle the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, to midwife a thoroughly supervised process that will produce a more competent academic that will transform the citadel of learning into a world-class status, in line with university (Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Act 2003.

They spoke through a statement signed by the convener of the group, Deji Omobulejo, a copy of which was made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti.

The group said: “Should this grave injustice remain unaddressed and the appointment of Professor Joshua Ogunwole not reversed within a reasonable timeframe, the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Southern Nigerian Youth Congress, in collaboration with the entire FUOYE staff and students and other relevant stakeholders, will have no alternative but to embark on a continuous, 90-day peaceful protest.

“This protest will be held at the National Assembly (NASS), the Headquarters of the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Federal Ministry of Education, and the Federal University Oye-Ekiti campus itself,” they stated.

Justifying the call for nullification of the appointment, the youths posited that the process allegedly got vitiated on the premise of gross irregularities, blatant manipulations, and flagrant violations of statutory provisions that characterised the process.

“The future of our youth is directly tied to the quality of education, integrity of institutional governance, and the preservation of meritocracy in our tertiary institutions. We are therefore compelled by duty and conscience to demand immediate intervention in the ongoing charade at FUOYE.

“In light of the above, we respectfully pray that your esteemed offices initiate a comprehensive investigation into the vice chancellor’s selection process at FUOYE, which has been widely described as a deceitful charade,” they said. (Nigerian Tribune)