Adedimeji Quayyim, Adepoju Samuel Oluwatimileyin and Ajao Ifeoluwa-Grace
The President of the Senate Council, Akinyemi Oluwafemi, has revealed that the Senate Council had been inadequate in fulfilling its constitutional duties, and has promised to rectify the lapses in its subsequent actions and decisions.
In an interview with the UCJ UNILORIN, Mr. Akinyemi Oluwafemi, who is also a senator representing the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, admitted to faults of the Senate Council of not releasing minutes of its Emergency session, which was held on Saturday, 3rd of July, 2021, which he blamed on the non-existence of essential committees of the Council delegated to this function. He promised to ensure the updates of the sitting soon, at an unspecified time despite the insistence of clarity from the Press.
This statement was made by the Senate President when the UCJ UNILORIN inquired from the public official on whether the non-release of the minutes has made the student populace ignorant of the activities of the Students’ Union, including the planning and budgetary allocations of The SU Press Conference 2021, tagged “The Nexus”.
The non-publication of the minutes is also in clear breach of Article 11-14 of the Students’ Union Constitution, and the Standing Orders of the Senate Council, all to the effect that Senators are responsible to the electorates in their constituencies where they were elected, and that the Senate Council, as the student representative arm of the SU, is responsible in ensuring effective representation of the students.
During the interview, Mr. Akinyemi admitted that the Senate Council approved the sum of One Hundred and Seventy-Seven Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty Naira (#177, 850) for The Nexus Conference, a figure confirmed in a separate interview with the Public Relations Officer of the SU, Mr. Olabode Stephen (O’Smart).
He, however, mentioned that the money has not been disbursed, which raises the evident question of accountability of finances incurred during the SU Press Conference 2021, held on Wednesday, 7th of July, 2021, a project of the SU that money is yet to be disbursed for.
Mr. Akinyemi also mentioned that plannings of projects of the Union not formally presented to the Senate Council is an act done in nullity, which also raises questions on the publicity of The Nexus Conference, which began way before the presentation of the plans before the Senate Council.
The Senate President however enthusiastically promised that all these concerns would be addressed and that the lapses and inadequacies incurred by the Council shall be well-rectified in its subsequent actions.
