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The Students Union Government (SUG) of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) has written a letter to the Visitor of the Ivory Tower, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT), urging him to ignore the “mischievous, frivolous and misleading” petition by the Ekiti State Chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) against the ongoing Vice-Chancellorship selection process in the institution.

The Ekiti NYCN had in the petition to the President titled: “Petition against ongoing administrative manipulation, corruption and abuse of due process in the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor at the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE)”, asked Tinubu to order the suspension of the exercise.

The NYCN claimed that the new Vice-Chancellor selection process was designed to produce a preferred candidate of the Governing Council Chairman, Distinguished Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba and the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Professor Sunday Abayomi Fasina.

But the FUOYE SUG, the umbrella body and authentic voice of all the students in the university, in a letter to President Tinubu, strongly refuted the claims by the NYCN members, insisting rather that the whole process for the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor was progressing smoothly and transparently in strict compliance with the provisions of the law, under the proactive supervision of Ndoma-Egba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and respected politician with an impeccable record in public service.

In the letter dated November 3, 2025 and signed by Comrades Adio James (President) and Alao Ayorinde (General Secretary), the FUOYE SUG wrote: “We begin by conveying our profound gratitude to Your Excellency (President Bola Ahmed Tinubu) for your decisive leadership, particularly for the NELFUND initiative. This transformative scheme has proven to be a watershed moment in the education sector, successfully safeguarding the academic future of thousands of our members who benefit from this student loan scheme. Furthermore, we commend your timely intervention on the recent industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Your leadership prevented a disruptive crisis, safeguarding the academic calendar, and demonstrating your administration’s commitment to the Nigerian student. We wish Your Excellency well as you continue to pilot the affairs of our great nation.

“However, with deep regret and strong condemnation, we address the misleading and politically motivated petition recently submitted by the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Ekiti Chapter. We unequivocally reject the entirety of their submission as baseless and an unwarranted attempt to destabilise the academic environment we have fought hard to maintain. The NYCN is an external organisation whose recent activities suggest an alliance with disgruntled elements, not the interests of FUOYE students.

“The claim that FUOYE is the ‘epicentre of disturbing governance decay’ is a profound misrepresentation of our lived reality. Over the past few years, the FUOYE environment, under the current Governing Council and Administration, has enjoyed unprecedented stability.

“We specifically praise the tenure of the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina, which has been defined by a focus on student welfare, peace, and progress. Students highly appreciate his tenure for unprecedented infrastructural expansion, improved student welfare services, and securing accreditation for numerous programmes. His consistent efforts ensured a stable academic calendar, devoid of strike actions, which is paramount to the Nigerian student.

“The assertion that the Governing Council Chairman, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), and Prof. Fasina turned the university into their ‘personal empire’ is a grave, unfounded insult to the professional integrity of the Council and its members. This body is mandated by law to provide governance and oversight, a responsibility we believe they have exercised in the best interest of the institution’s progress and stability.

“The NYCN’s petition is regrettably built on widely circulated, yet discredited, claims that form a persistent campaign of calumny against the university.

“We state categorically, as stakeholders who monitor the university environment, that the sensational allegations regarding a ₦128 million ‘research leave’ for the VC and the ₦700 million property acquisitions are factually untrue. The University Management has repeatedly and publicly debunked these precise lies. We urge Your Excellency’s office to perform its own fact-check; these claims are being recklessly used by disgruntled elements to deceive the public and must be disregarded.

“The decision of the Council to hold sensitive committee meetings in a secure, central location like Abuja is a strategic, lawful administrative measure. This ensures the necessary neutrality, security, and full participation of all distinguished members during high-stakes deliberations, particularly the complex VC selection process.

“To label approved statutory logistics costs as ‘financial sabotage’ constitutes a malicious exaggeration and betrays a fundamental ignorance of public service governance.

“The NYCN’s insinuation that the ongoing process is ‘Illegal and manipulated’ based on its two-week timeline is baseless and seeks to impose an arbitrary standard.

“The timeline, while efficient, adheres strictly to the minimum requirements stipulated by the University (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, which is the guiding law. Comparing this efficient, cost-saving schedule to the six-to-eight-week timelines of older, larger institutions like the University of Ibadan or University of Lagos is an invalid comparison and an attempt to impose unnecessary delays. The Council’s decision is one of fiscal prudence and administrative efficiency, designed to avoid costly delays and ensure a seamless handover, not a “scripted coronation.”

Seeking for the protection of the Federal Government (FG) against external forces and intruders working to disrupt the existing peace and stability in the university, the FUOYE SUG, added: “We must also bring to Your Excellency’s attention the imminent and manufactured security risk posed by these petitioners. We unequivocally condemn any planned protest by the NYCN or its affiliates as a clear attempt to disrupt our peace. We have just admitted over ten thousand young Nigerians as fresh students from across the country. These new members are unfamiliar with the environment and are inherently vulnerable in this situation.

“We assert that only firm, decisive, and transparent action can restore and protect the confidence of the Nigerian youth. We appeal to Your Excellency, the Visitor to FUOYE, to order the following actions:

“Direct the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and all relevant security agencies to secure the FUOYE campus and its environs immediately. This must be done to protect our students, especially the vulnerable freshers, against any external security threats orchestrated by the NYCN or any disgruntled political body.

“Discountenance the NYCN petition in its entirety, as it is fundamentally misleading and intended only to destabilise the institution for selfish interests.

“Reject the demand for the suspension of all current Council activities related to the Vice Chancellorship process, thereby upholding the statutory autonomy of the Governing Council.

“Direct the Governing Council to continue and conclude the lawful Vice Chancellorship selection process immediately.”

The FUOYE students declared: “We stand with the Governing Council and the University Administration in their efforts to uphold integrity and complete the transition peacefully.”