The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Ekiti State Chapter on Thursday launched a fierce rebuttal against the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) Students’ Union Government (SUG), dismissing its claims as a script of “misplaced loyalties” and “falsehoods.”
This comes amidst a new controversy over the purported appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor- Prof.Joshua Ogunwole which the youth council condemns as a blatant violation of due process and a calculated insult to the authority of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The NYCN asserted its role not as an interloper but as a legitimate stakeholder constitutionally bound to demand accountability from public institutions on Ekiti soil.
The council expressed profound dismay at the SUG’s press statement, which had labelled the youth body as “unnecessary interlopers.” In a strong rejoinder, the NYCN Chairman, Amb. James Segun Bankole, clarified that the council is a statutory Federal Government-recognized umbrella for all Nigerian youth, making them direct stakeholders in the affairs of FUOYE. He emphasized that their advocacy is a constitutional duty to defend transparency and fairness in a taxpayer-funded institution located in their homeland, rejecting any notion of external interference.
A central point of the NYCN’s outrage is the hurried appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor by the FUOYE Governing Council. The council condemned this move as a “blatant act of disregard” for the President and the Federal Ministry of Education, coming despite multiple petitions and a pending ultimatum. They questioned the desperation behind the rush, framing it as a clear attempt to cover up alleged rot, entrench illegality, and impose a successor before a thorough investigation into serious allegations of corruption, mismanagement, and abuse of office under the outgoing administration of Prof. Abayomi Fasina and Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) can be concluded.
Furthermore, the NYCN lamented the lack of independence in the SUG’s response, suggesting its statement echoed the language of management press releases and showed signs of external influence. The youth body urged the student leadership to retrace its steps and align with the genuine pursuit of accountability, reminding them that their primary role is to protect student welfare, not to act as a public relations arm for a potentially compromised university management. The NYCN reaffirmed that its demands for on-campus council meetings, investigations into corruption, and equitable representation for Ekiti youth are matters of equity and good governance, not politics.
The National Youth Council reiterated its commitment to peaceful yet resolute advocacy, vowing not to be intimidated by sponsored attacks. Their demands according to the press statement remains non-negotiable, requesting the immediate suspension and nullification of the new VC appointment, the suspension of the key figures involved, an independent probe into all allegations, and the restoration of institutional integrity to FUOYE’s main campus in Oye-Ekiti. They maintained that the council’s message remains unequivocal, stating that “FUOYE belongs to Nigeria, but it resides in Ekiti — and Ekiti youth will not be silent spectators in their own land.”
