The Osun State Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have disagreed over the two-year extension of the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Prof. Clement Adebooye.
The dispute followed Governor Ademola Adeleke’s approval of the extension, announced on August 31 during the inauguration of the university’s reconstituted Governing Council in Osogbo.
Adeleke, who is the Visitor to the university, said the decision was taken to strengthen governance, ensure continuity and prevent an administrative vacuum.
However, ASUU has faulted the move, arguing that it contravenes legal provisions governing the tenure of university principal officers.
At an emergency National Executive Council meeting held on September 5, the union resolved to challenge what it described as a violation of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act and provisions referenced in the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement.
ASUU also mandated its UNIOSUN branch to mobilise and constituted a visitation team to meet the university administration, Governing Council and the Visitor over the matter.
The union’s opposition followed an earlier position by the UNIOSUN ASUU chapter that the university’s establishment law did not provide for an extension of the Vice-Chancellor’s tenure.
The branch chairman, Dr Wende Olaosebikan, said the law provided a five-year term for the Vice-Chancellor without reappointment or extension, while limited extensions for the Registrar, Bursar and Librarian did not apply to the Vice-Chancellor.
The dispute escalated after the Osun State House of Assembly moved to amend the UNIOSUN Establishment Law to provide a statutory framework for the two-year extension.
The state government is relying on that amendment in defending Adeleke’s decision.
In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the government said Adebooye’s current tenure remains valid until January 2027.
It argued that Adeleke’s decision should be viewed within his responsibilities as Visitor and the subsequent legislative intervention by the State Assembly.
The government said it was therefore inaccurate to suggest that the Visitor acted outside the law or ignored the university’s governing framework.
It also rejected attempts to portray the matter as a crisis or institutional illegality, insisting that the university is governed by its enabling law and statutory organs.
“No staff union, including ASUU, has the statutory authority to teach the Visitor or the Governing Council how to exercise powers lawfully vested in them,” the government said.
The government acknowledged ASUU as an important stakeholder but stressed that the union could not substitute its interpretation for the powers assigned to the Visitor, Governing Council and other statutory bodies.
It consequently urged members of the university community to avoid statements, protests or mobilisations capable of creating tension at the institution.
The controversy now centres on whether the state’s legislative amendment fully resolves the legal objections raised by ASUU, particularly its reliance on federal university legislation.
Until that question is settled, the extension is likely to remain a source of tension between the Osun Government and the academic union.
