Tensions flared on Monday at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) as students, youth leaders, and staff members staged a peaceful demonstration against the institution’s leadership, accusing top officials of corruption, abuse of office, and moral decay.
The protest, which paralysed academic and administrative activities on campus, was jointly organised by the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Ekiti State Chapter, and the Association of Southern Nigeria Youth Congress (ASNYC). Demonstrators carried placards with inscriptions such as “Enough of corruption in FUOYE,” “Moral decay under Prof. Fasina is killing our morale,” and “Tinubu, suspend FUOYE VC now.”
The protesters demanded the immediate suspension of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina, and the removal of the university’s Governing Council Chairman, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN).
In a statement shared with PUNCH Online, NYCN Chairman, James Bankole, described the situation as a “monumental crisis threatening to destroy FUOYE,” accusing the university’s leadership of operating a “calculated conspiracy of corruption, financial recklessness, and moral decay.”
“The Governing Council has been weaponised for self-enrichment and impunity. This is not governance; it is a brazen financial scavenging operation,”
— James Bankole, NYCN Chairman
Bankole further alleged that the Governing Council Chairman had relocated all meetings and the ongoing Vice-Chancellorship selection process to Abuja in violation of ministerial directives a move he described as “financial sabotage against the Nigerian state.”
He also decried what he called “the institutionalisation of sexual exploitation and abuse” within FUOYE, citing alleged cases of harassment and cover-ups by senior officials.
The youth groups announced that they would be relocating their secretariats to the university campus until their demands including the suspension of Prof. Fasina, removal of Senator Ndoma-Egba, a forensic audit of the university’s finances, and an independent probe into the sexual harassment allegations are met.
“We will not leave until every single demand is met,” Bankole vowed.
However, the Students’ Union Government (SUG) had earlier distanced itself from the protest. In a statement issued on Sunday by SUG President, James Adio; General Secretary, Ayorinde Alao; and Public Relations Officer, David Abiola, the union warned against any unauthorised gathering or disruption of peace on campus.
The SUG’s statement, titled “Letter of resistance and warning against National Youth Council of Nigeria protest within FUOYE,” urged the NYCN to avoid turning the institution into what it called a “theatre of protests.”
As of press time, neither the university management nor the Governing Council had issued an official response to the allegations. Efforts by PUNCH to reach the Vice-Chancellor’s Special Adviser on Media, Dr Wole Balogun, were unsuccessful as calls to his phone did not connect.
The protest comes amid a series of petitions reportedly sent to President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Education, and anti-graft agencies, urging a comprehensive investigation into alleged financial mismanagement and manipulation of the Vice-Chancellorship selection process.
In October, the university had warned the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) branch in FUOYE against spreading what it termed “falsehood and malicious propaganda” against the Vice-Chancellor, after the union accused him of political manoeuvring ahead of the Ekiti governorship election.
The situation remains tense on campus as protesters vow to sustain their sit-in until action is taken by the federal authorities.