Claim: Senator Dino Melaye alleged that 120 Professors and academic staff were unceremoniously sent packing from Kogi State University in year 2017. By: Ibrahim Sodiq Verdict: True! The Kogi state government in the year 2017 sacked 120 academic workers from the Kogi state university. Background: On the 19th September 2023, Terry Ikumi
Claim: Senator Dino Melaye alleged that 120 Professors and academic staff were unceremoniously sent packing from Kogi State University in year 2017.
By: Ibrahim Sodiq
Verdict: True! The Kogi state government in the year 2017 sacked 120 academic workers from the Kogi state university.
Background:
On the 19th September 2023, Terry Ikumi a Nigerian media personality, who works with Channels television had a one-on-one interactive session with Sen. Dino Melaye the gubernatorial candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming off-cycle governorship election in Kogi state.
Screenshot image of Terry Ikumi and Sen. Dino Melaye
Sen. Dino Melaye, as at 10:00 minutes into the video, said that “first time in the history of this country where 120 professors and academic staff were unceremoniously sent packing from Kogi state university.”. He alleged that the incumbent governor Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC) sacked 120 professors and academic workers in a day from the Kogi state university.
Image of Dino Melaye picture
Since education is one of the most important sectors of governance, and the claim is relevant with the administrative performance of the incumbent, Yahaya Bello as the election is approaching, iVerify was prompted to subject the claim to a verification process to ascertain the veracity of Dino Melaye’s submissions.
Verification:
Search by iVerify shows that the claim that 120 professors and academic staff were unceremoniously sent packing from Kogi state university is TRUE.
A keyword search shows that The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kogi State University, Anyigba chapter, had once dragged the state government to court to seek redress for the proscription of ASUU KSU, Anyigba and the termination of the appointment of 120 academic staff members of the institution.
A web post as far back as 2017, here and here shows that in suit No: NIC/ABJ/304/2017, the ASUU-KSU (Kogi State University), had instituted a suit at the National Industrial Court, seeking redress over some contentious issues, including the proscription of the union and the termination of their appointments.
A further search shows that the renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana SAN, had filed the case at the National Industrial Court in Abuja on behalf of the lecturers comprising about six Professors against KSU and the Attorney General of Kogi State as 1st and 2nd defendants respectfully, praying for the reversal of the purported sack of his clients.
The sack was instituted by Kogi State University (KSU) by a letter of August 14, 2017, with reference No. KSU/R/EST/EMP/SS/Vol 1.
Also, further search shows that it was not the first time that 120 lecturers would be sacked in the history of Nigeria as claimed by Senator Dino Melaye. Media reports here revealed that 120 lecturers have been sacked by the management of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun state in 2013, four years before Kogi lecturers were dismissed.
Conclusion:
The claim that 120 professors and academic staff were unceremoniously sent packing from Kogi state university in 2017 is TRUE.
Although, it’s not the first time such an occurrence had taken place in the history of the country.
