Osun State Government has defended the extension of the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), challenging the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to point to any law breached by the decision.
The government maintained that the extension was carried out in accordance with the law establishing the institution, stressing that UNIOSUN, as a state-owned university, is governed by the Osun State University Establishment Law.
In a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, the Osun government also highlighted its implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement at the university.
It said UNIOSUN began implementing the agreement before the Federal Government, with payment of the applicable arrears also ongoing.
According to the government, Governor Ademola Adeleke became the second governor, after his Ekiti State counterpart, to approve implementation of the salary component of the agreement.
It described ASUU’s failure to acknowledge the development as surprising, insisting that the state’s record on staff welfare did not support allegations that the government had neglected university lecturers.
On the VC’s tenure, the government rejected ASUU’s description of the extension as arbitrary, saying the process followed the appropriate executive and legislative procedures.
It particularly faulted the union’s reliance on the Federal Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, arguing that the law applies to federal universities and cannot be used as the governing framework for UNIOSUN.
The government said UNIOSUN derives its legal existence and governance structure from the Osun State University Establishment Law.
It further stated that after the Visitor exercised his powers regarding the Vice-Chancellor’s tenure, the Osun State House of Assembly amended relevant provisions of the university’s establishment law.
The state government therefore argued that the tenure extension was not a unilateral decision by the governor but one backed by the applicable legal framework.
ASUU had earlier opposed the extension and the subsequent amendment of the university’s establishment law, warning that the move could set a precedent for governors to interfere in succession arrangements in state-owned universities.
The union also expressed concern that such interventions could undermine institutional autonomy and create avoidable leadership crises in state universities.
The Osun government, however, maintained that the controversy should be examined within the specific law establishing UNIOSUN, rather than legislation governing federal universities.