Professor Labode Popoola has been appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of Osun State University, but an applicant for the position claims he was intentionally sidelined.
Professor Popoola was appointed the Vice Chancellor by the state Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola.
A statement by the spokesman for the Governor, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, says the appointment takes effect immediately.
Mr Okanlawon said Governor Aregbesola approved the appoint following the recommendations of the council of the institution.
Born on September 28, 1960, Professor Popoola hails from Inis In Osun State and worked at the Department Of forest Resources Management, University of Ibadan, Oyo State.
The new VC would take over from Professor Jellies Oguntola Alamu who has been at the helm of affairs as acting VC since last year.
Meanwhile, reactions have begun to trail the appointment of the new VC.
One of the applicants for the vacant post of Vice Chancellor of Osun State University, Professor Andrew Akinmoladun, has petitioned Governor Aregbesola, alleging that there was a plot to skew the selection process of the new VC for the institution to favour a particular candidate.
Professor Akinmoladun, a founding academic staff of the University, who left the institution in 2012 for Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, United States of America, in a letter addressed to Governor Aregbesola, said he applied for the job, when it was advertised last year August.
Professor Akinmoladun said he decided to apply for the post because he met all the requirements.
According to him, he had travelled down to Nigeria from his base in the U.S. purposely to attend interview for the post of Vice Chancellor.
He, however, alleged that some elements within the university conspired and ensured he did not get shortlisted despite possessing all the requirements stated in the advert.
The letter, copies of which were obtained by reporters in Osogbo read: “I received a response to my application from the institution through the registrar, intimating me of scheduled dates of Wednesday, 2nd and Thursday, 3rd November, 2016 respectively for the interview of candidates.
“I immediately boarded the plane from New York to Nigeria to make myself available for the next procedure. On my arrival, I heard that a professor from within the university has been adopted as government candidate and that he held a meeting with the UNIOSUN internal member and persuaded them to make sure I was not shortlisted because of my ICT and international exposure.
“The said professor was also reported to have said that when professor Okesina was to be picked as vice chancellor, it was an Ijesa man that came first and he was passed over to favour the man that eventually got the job and expressed fear that it would be difficult to persuade the governor to do the same this time around, if I should be interviewed and I passed.
“He feared that the consultant and external council member would score me high and if the internal members scored me very low their scores would be questioned.
“I confronted one of those named to be part of the meeting and he did not deny, but asked me who revealed it to me. I made my concern known to hon. Wale Afolabi the former Anthony General of state of Osun who happened to be a friend. I also discussed this matter with notable friends within academic and the government circle, who can corroborate all these claims.
“It suffice to state that some candidates for the position were contacted and interviewed on Wednesday, 2nd November, 2016 and other candidates were also contacted to appear for interview on Thursday, 3rd November, 2016.
“Surprisingly I was never contacted for the two scheduled dates. I want to strongly state that the conduct and selection process so far is embellished with irregularities and discrepancies.
“Due process and transparency was never followed in the conduct and selection process but that everything was selfishly and hurriedly done just to pick and announce as already pencilled down candidate”.