By Olatunji Olaigbe
The Senate Council of the Students’ Union of the University of Ilorin held its second emergency sitting yesterday to discuss matters of public importance, committee reports, and other issues arising in the union. During the sitting, senators raised various matters of public importance, including displeasure at the state of CBT during the last test, lack of water supply, constitution of a 7-man SU committee without the Senate approval, presence of potholes along certain areas, lack of proper refuse disposal in halls of residence, bad state of toilets and bushes surrounding ELT, exigency of street light along Pharmacy, proper transportation plans for Veterinary medicine students, and provision of healthy environment in halls of residence.
The Senate Council discussed these issues and made recommendations that will be presented to the relevant authorities. However, matters arising during the sitting included a letter of financial irregularities sent to the Senate Council by the Financial Secretary of the union. The letter accused the President of unlawfully collecting funds from an association on campus that is not within the jurisdiction of his constitutional obligations. The financial secretary stated that a reoccurrence of such actions would be tantamount to misappropriation. In addition, members of the Central Executive Council sent another letter alleging that the President was running the administration on his own without duly carrying other members of the union along. The issue of the SU security committee was also seen as an act of constitutional encroachment done by the president.
The Senate Council, as an unbiased umpire in the issues stated above, summoned the President to explain his own side of the story, reflecting fair hearing. However, instead of stating his side of the story, the President stormed out of the hallowed chamber. After an exhaustive debate and critical analysis of the facts at hand, the Senate Council passed a motion of 60 working days suspension on Faji Tobiloba, the executive president of the union, after 23 out of 30 senators present and voting, voted in favour of this motion, thus fulfilling section 13 subsection E of the Students’union compendium.
The Senate Council noted that the President was suspended not only because he walked out of the sitting but also for other grounds, including misappropriation of funds, constitutional encroachment, gross misconduct, and abuse of office and irregularities in the discharge of his day-to-day activities in the union. The Senate Council invites all Unilorites to participate in its parliamentary deliberations as congressmen, and the students’ union compendium is accessible to all.
