“A Violation of the Law”: ASUU Fires Back Over Adeleke’s UNIOSUN VC Extension

The Osun State Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities have disagreed over Governor Ademola Adeleke’s approval of a two-year tenure extension for the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Prof. Clement Adebooye.

While the government insists the decision followed due process, ASUU has declared it a “flagrant violation” of the university’s enabling law and the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement.

A Battle Over the Vice-Chancellor’s Tenure

The Osun State Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have clashed over Governor Ademola Adeleke’s approval of a two-year tenure extension for the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof. Clement Odunayo Adebooye.

The dispute has escalated into a full-blown confrontation, with both sides trading accusations over the legality of the extension.

The extension, which adds two years to Adebooye’s tenure, whose current term remains valid until January 2027, has been defended by the government as a lawful exercise of the Visitor’s powers.

However, ASUU has declared the move a “flagrant violation” of the university’s enabling law and the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement.ASUU’s Position:

“A Violation of the Law”

ASUU reached its position at an Emergency National Executive Council meeting held on Saturday, September 5, 2026, at the Festus Iyayi National Secretariat of the University of Abuja.

A communiqué signed by ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, stated that the union had directed the UNIOSUN branch to mobilise its members against a violation of the law.

“The union mandated the branch to ‘go back and mobilise to respond courageously to the flagrant violation of the Miscellaneous Act as amplified in the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement,” the communiqué stated.

ASUU also resolved to constitute a visitation team to Osogbo within two weeks to investigate the circumstances surrounding the extension.

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According to the union, “the team would engage the university administration, Governing Council and Governor Adeleke in an effort to resolve the dispute,” and would seek the reversal of the tenure extension during its engagements with the relevant authorities.

The Government’s Defence: Due Process Followed

Responding to the union’s position, the Osun State Government insisted that the university’s governance was guided by statutory provisions and not the preferences of any staff union.

A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said “the government considered it necessary to correct the impression that the decision was taken arbitrarily”.

The government clarified that the current tenure of the Vice-Chancellor subsists until January 2027 and that no retroactive decision had been taken.

It further stated that Governor Adeleke’s decision as Visitor was followed by legislative action by the Osun State House of Assembly to amend the UNIOSUN Establishment Law.

“The amendment bill was considered and passed by the House of Assembly after legislative scrutiny of the relevant provisions, thereby providing a statutory framework for the tenure extension,” the statement said.

“It is therefore inaccurate to portray the matter as though the Visitor acted in isolation or that the University’s governing framework has been disregarded,” the government added.

A Distinction Between Interpretation and Amendment

The government distinguished between interpreting an existing law and the Legislature’s authority to amend it, arguing that an earlier provision on the Vice-Chancellor’s tenure did not permanently prevent lawmakers from reviewing the law.

It added that the Governing Council remained responsible for matters within its statutory jurisdiction, while the Visitor exercised powers assigned to the office under the university’s enabling framework.

A Call for Restraint

While calling for engagement within the boundaries of the law, mutual respect and UNIOSUN’s established governance structure, the government urged ASUU and other stakeholders to allow the relevant statutory institutions to perform their duties.

“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, adding that “the University is governed by its enabling law, and not by the unilateral interpretation of any union or pressure group” .

A Lesson for Nigeria

The UNIOSUN tenure dispute is a reminder that the battle for university autonomy is also a battle for institutional integrity.

The same politicians who appoint Vice-Chancellors will never allow their own children to be educated in institutions where governance is reduced to political patronage.

For Nigeria, the lesson is clear: university governance must be protected from political interference.

The Visitor’s powers, however legitimate, must be exercised in a manner that respects the statutory framework and the principles of academic freedom.

The same leaders who defend these extensions will never allow their own children to be victims of arbitrary governance.

Protect university autonomy. Demand institutional integrity. And never forget that the future of Nigeria depends on the quality of its universities.