The Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Adebola Babatunde Ekanola, is convening a stakeholders’ meeting in Ibadan on Tuesday to find a solution to the crisis over the appointment of a substantive VC for the 72-year-old institution.
Ekanola, who succeeded Prof. Idowu Olayinka on December 1 as acting VC, mooted the idea of the meeting to have a road map before the expiration of his six months tenure.
Those invited for the meeting were all past Vice Chancellors, internal members of UI Council, internal applicants for the post of Vice Chancellor and religious leaders.
It is however not clear if Olayinka will be there since he is a past VC as he has been accused of deliberately stalling the process for the appointment of a VC.
There are also fears the Ekanola, who is the convener, may not be neutral as he had in the past backed one of the candidates for the VC’s position.
Virtually all the past VCs have written one recommendations or the other for the applicants .
There are insinuations in some quarters that the meeting is coming too early, just three weeks after the VC election imbroglio, and that such parley ought to be convened by a neutral body or person.
An academic added: “However, if the acting VC can be true to his intentions, we hope stakeholders will consider the larger interest of the University of Ibadan and put in place a process that will be open and credible.
“It should be devoid of any ethnic or religious divisions and aspire to mend all differences and gulfs created by the outgone VC.”