LASU Re-Issues PhDs To 9 Lecturers

Prof. John Obafunwa

Prof. John Obafunwa

Kazeem Ugbodaga

The authorities of the Lagos State University, LASU, have re-issued PhDs to nine lecturers whose certificates were earlier withdrawn by the school over alleged discrepancies in their documents.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. John Obafunwa had said that 19 PhD holders in the school were having their certificates investigated to correct anomalies and had the documents withdrawn.

Prof.  John Obafunwa
Prof. John Obafunwa

He had also said that eight out of the 19 lecturers’ PhDs had no anomalies, leaving 10 lecturers who had problems with their certificates.

However, at a news conference on Monday in LASU, Ojo, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, the Interim Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, LASU chapter, Mr. Ayodele Asokere said nine of the 10 affected lecturers had been re-issued their PhDs after making the necessary corrections.

At the briefing which had seven of the nine affected PhD holders present, it was disclosed that the university authorities ordered that the affected certificates be returned for obvious corrections.

Nine out of them who were staff of the university complied with the instruction, while only one of them, the factional chairman of ASUU-LASU, Dr. Adekunle Idris, failed to comply.

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One of the affected lecturers, Dr. Yusuf Babatunde, said the Senate of LASU at its 220th statutory meeting held on Thursday, 30 October, 2014 had directed the withdrawal of the affected certificates.

“We were all directed to return the certificates on or before Tuesday, November 18, 2014. Nine out of ten of us complied with the Senate’s directive and handed over our certificates to the issuing body and exactly 72 hours later, the senate met and re-awarded the degree reflecting what we applied for and studied, thereby correcting the anomalies reported.

“The award took into consideration the following key stages like the area of specialisation, as stated in the application; course work as reflected by area of specialisation; seminars presented in the area of specialisation and lastly specialisation as stated in the thesis.

“It was after this that nine of us who obeyed the Senate’s resolutions were re-issued with the corrected certificate. Rather than Adekun Idris submitting his certificate for review and re-award, he has been denigrating and demeaning the powers of the university’s senate and the integrity of LASU,” he said.

However, Asokere said there is no crisis in the university as being speculated, saying those fanning the embers of crisis in the university were outsiders who were working in collaboration with a few disgruntled elements in the university.

He said the campus environment has been very peaceful with both academic and non-academic staff of the university fully and dutifully engaged.

“Please do not be misled by mischief makers and propagandists who are determined to create panic where there should be none and indeed, there is none. I stand here representing the position of all the academics in Lagos State University to state that there is no crisis in the Lagos State university. I am an insider and I want to reiterate that no one knows Osho’s mother more than Osho himself,” he said.

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