Adepoju has occupied the position since August 2014, a period staff members say is approaching 12 years, far beyond the tenure framework stipulated by federal regulations.
The Vice Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Professor Odunayo Clement Adebooye, has defended the continued stay of the institution’s Director of Works, Engr. Samson Aderemi Adepoju, arguing that retaining experienced engineers is necessary to shield the university from scrutiny by anti-graft agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Sources told SaharaReporters that the Vice Chancellor made the remarks while responding to an earlier report on the alleged elongation of the Director of Works’ tenure, during an address to staff in which he explained the rationale behind Adepoju’s continued stay in office.
“We need someone who has experience to lead the works department, we need someone like Adepoju who has been there and has experience,” he noted in an audio obtained by SaharaReporters while addressing staff members.
“Imagine that the EFCC comes now and the ICPC comes now, who will defend us, we need someone who can be able to tell them technically why we did what we did. Things like that if not well handled, you will just hear that they have carried(arrested) the VC.”
