PHOTO; Some participants during retreat
By: Mandy Park
The Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State, has successfully wrapped up a two-day joint council and management retreat held in Maryland, Lagos, with the theme, “FUOYE Beyond Today; Strategic Alignment, Governance, Partnership And Financial Sustainability For The Next 25 Years (2025-2050)”.
The retreat provided a platform for the Governing Council led by the Pro-Chancellor, Distinguished Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, and the Management Team headed by the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Professor Abayomi Fasina, to have in-depth discussions, review the journey so far for the 14-year-old Ivory Tower, and strategize for the next 25 years.
Delivering his welcome remarks at the joint retreat which began on Sunday, the Chairman of the Governing Council/Pro-Chancellor, Senator Ndoma-Egba, a one-time Senate Leader, urged members of the Council and management team to show unalloyed commitment to the 25-year strategic plan – a comprehensive blueprint for FUOYE’s future.
According to him, “This plan calls for the deliberate building of a citadel of learning and character, dedicated to producing future-ready, innovative generations of students equipped to compete successfully with their peers anywhere in the world.”
Stressing the importance of communication, the Pro-Chancellor, who has since assumption of office over a year ago, remained resolutely focussed on ensuring the sustainability of FUOYE’s exponential growth believed to have been recorded mainly under the outgoing VC, Professor Fasina, notwithstanding various attempts by mischief makers to pull down the institution, said: “If we do not tell our story, those who do not wish us well will tell it with their lies and prejudices.”
Speaking further, Ndoma-Egba, a highly respected and influential politician in the country, narrated: “My experience with University administration started with my appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the Federal University, Lokoja in July 2024 and inaugurated in August, 2024. I was barely settling down when my cross posting to FUOYE was announced by Mr. President in November 2024. I was therefore in a position to compare and appreciate the rate of growth and development of two peer universities, created at the same time, same age.
“While Federal University, Lokoja was growing normally in faculties, staff and students’ population (then about 15,000), FUOYE on the other hand was experiencing ‘gigantism’, for want of a better term. While my challenge in Federal University, Lokoja was managing normal growth, in FUOYE (with a population of over 50,000) the challenge was managing abnormal or unusual growth. In Federal University, Lokoja, I was very warmly welcomed with balloons, buntings, song and dance. In FUOYE, I was also warmly welcomed, but this time with fire and brimstone.
“I assumed office in the midst of a contrived and persistent crises arising from allegations of so-called sexual harassment against the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abayomi Fasina. These allegations had been repeatedly investigated by the Nigerian Police, the Kayode Ojo – led Council, and later by my own Council, yet they continued to dominate the media, portraying FUOYE – and eventually me – in an unflattering light throughout most of my first year in office as Pro-Chancellor.
“I have been in and out of public service since the age of twenty-three, and I will be seventy in March – less than eight weeks away. I have never experienced circumstances as difficult as those of this period, which have proved to be the most harrowing of my entire public career. I must however express my profound gratitude to the members of the Governing Council for standing firmly on the side of truth and for maintaining unity and resolve, despite the numerous pressures and temptations to do otherwise.”
Continuing, he added, “However, it was not all bad as valuable lessons were learnt. Most importantly, it reinforced my sense of patience and faith in God. It further reinforced my belief that you never have to chase a lie as sooner than later it must run out of breath. The truth eventually sets you free but it first makes you miserable and like the sun and the moon, the truth can never be hidden, and my belief that loyalty must not be taken for granted was further strengthened.”
The Pro-Chancellor recalled that “From the 1st to 6th of April 2025, Council had a retreat in Kigali, Rwanda with the theme ‘Navigating University Operations in Turbulent Times’. This was soon after my assumption but it had been planned before my coming. From our experience at the said retreat which was most beneficial, this joint retreat became imperative. These retreats are necessary as they boost morale of the highest level of governance of our institution, improve teamwork, enhance communication, increase creativity by taking us outside our routine environment and thus removing daily distractions and aligning the top echelon of our university with our strategic goals in a relaxed setting. This retreat should create an atmosphere of belonging and indeed ownership of our university, and facilitate integration.”
While thanking REC Consulting and the university management for organising the retreat, he equally congratulated Professor Fasina, the outgoing VC, “for a remarkable tenure and for a dignified closure, and Professor Joshua Ogunwole on his emergence as Vice Chancellor designate from a very transparent process.”
FUOYE, created by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 along with 8 others, has grown fast ahead of its peers to become one of the top-rated universities in the country. The latest release by Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, placed FUOYE as 11th among Nigerian universities, and the institution has been consistently ranked by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as the fourth most sought-after university in Nigeria by admission seekers.
