Learning of my sack on air embarrassing – Ex-Ekiti college chairman

Agency ReporterJune 18, 2018

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The immediate past chairman of the Governing Council of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Prof. Babatope Alo, has described the announcement of his sack on the airwaves as an “act of injustice”.

Alo revealed that he has not been officially communicated through a letter or electronically since his sack was announced last week on the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES).

He disclosed that a member of the Governing Council, Mr Gboyega Akinola, had resigned in protest against the way and manner he was treated by the state government.

The Professor of Applied Biology said he served the college diligently, moved the institution forward and recorded achievements during his tenure.

The achievements, according to him, include stability in college administration, increase in internally-generated revenue, improvement in staff welfare, reviving of college farm, the establishment of the printing press, among others.

Alo, who spoke on Monday for the first time on his removal, said he was happy leaving office with his name, image and integrity intact as he was not accused of any act of fraud, embezzlement or abuse of office

While noting that he had no premonition of his sack from office, he said Governor Ayo Fayose had accused him of fraternizing with his enemies, saying he did not know the enemies the governor was referring to.

Alo said: “I had no premonition about my removal except for a time the governor called me, accusing me of fraternizing with his enemies and I wonder who could that enemy be.

“He was just talking to me that I was fraternizing with his enemies and he was just giving me a threat and I see no reason for that.

“I took the removal in good faith but definitely, it was an act of injustice and very embarrassing. If not that people are very much aware of my reputation, they would have thought that I did something bad.

“Everybody that knows me to know that I am a very credible person and I couldn’t have been involved in any act of misdemeanour, that was my saving grace.

“By not giving any reason, by just hearing it on air that my appointment has been terminated, who will feel comfortable with that?
My integrity is intact, my name and reputation were not soiled.

“Because of my decision to come down here and serve, I am financially poorer because I lost a lot of things for coming to my home state to serve.

“I am still a professor at the Federal University of Technology, Yola. You can imagine me coming at my own expense because of the love I have for my state. Removing me without any just cause was an injustice.”

He added: “The crop of Governing Council members is a very fantastic one, it must have been the best ever constituted for the college. The man who resigned (Akinola) said he took the action because of the way I was removed.

“He saw my removal as an injustice done to somebody who laboured to get the college to where it is. He came to me and said ‘Oga, I resigned because I did not like the way you were treated and I cannot imagine how a man like you can be treated like that.’

“Just hearing t on air that I had been removed, I was even trying to persuade him not to resign. he showed his loyalty to me that he was leaving and that was why he tendered his resignation.”