OSPOLY: Controversy surrounds Rector’s suspension as investigation panel snubs Odetayo

In a surprising turn of events surrounding the suspension of Dr. Tajudeen Odetayo, the Rector of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, the state government’s investigation panel has chosen not to invite him to its sittings during its inquiry into allegations against him.

The panel, led by Muritala Jimoh, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, also did not extend an invitation to the petitioner to present their case during the proceedings Edugist learnt.

The Chairman of the institution’s Governing Council, Diran Ayanbeku, inaugurated the panel on August 8, 2023, with a stipulated two-week deadline for submitting its report.

In a recent development, one of the panel members revealed that Dr. Odetayo wrote a letter to the panel on August 17, 2023, requesting an opportunity for fair representation. Regrettably, the panel failed to respond to his request by the end of business hours on Friday.

With the investigation scheduled to conclude Tuesday, August 22, 2023, the last day of the specified two-week period, a confidential source within the panel disclosed that they attempted to contact Odetayo by sending an invitation letter on Saturday, August 19. Unfortunately, there was no one available to receive the letter.

Dr. Ezekiel Alabi, representing the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Osun State OSPOLY chapter, confirmed that neither Odetayo nor the petitioner received invitations from the panel.

Odetayo’s suspension, effective July 11, 2023, through a letter signed by Muritala Jimoh, was linked to allegations involving financial impropriety, fraud, corruption, and misuse of authority. Subsequently, Mr. Kehinde Alabi, a native of Ede, was appointed Acting Rector of the institution.

The suspension incited protests within the polytechnic, prompting lecturers and non-academic staff to suspend their activities in protest, characterising the state government’s actions as unprecedented and unacceptable.