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The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Prof. Tajudeen Opoola, has said that the institution’s Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi Fasina, does not run an administration that muzzles the Muslim community on the campus.
Opoola, a Muslim, spoke in a statement made available in Ado Ekiti on Friday in reaction to the allegations by the Muslim Rights Concerns leader, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, that the Vice Chancellor was muzzling the Moslem community in the institution.
Akintola had in a statement accused the VC of, on two recent occasions, having prevented Muslims from going for Jumaat prayers in view of programmes slated for the period.
But the DVC, who described Prof. Fasina as “a highly religiously tolerant leader and brother”, clarified that the recently conducted Congregation on campus was scheduled to hold from 10am to 12pm on a Friday and that shows it was not meant to undermine the period of Jumaat service. However, Muslim members went for Jumaat service and returned without hindrance.
“Ordinarily inaugural lectures in FUOYE hold between 2pm and 5pm on all week days. But the last Friday’s inaugural lecture in question was delayed by management to commerce by 3pm which means it began after the Jumaat service.
“Those who fed the MURIC leader, Prof. Akintola, lies about the personality and leadership style of the VC didn’t mean well and only did so for selfish and mischievous purposes.
“While appreciating and commending MURIC’s concern for the welfare of Muslims in FUOYE, it is eminently important to inform the public of Prof. Fasina’s positive stand on the promotion of Islam in FUOYE.
“There has been cordial relationship between Muslim and Christian communities in both Oye and lkole campuses of our university through a non-discriminatory attitude of the VC, who has done so much in support of Islam on campus compared,” Opoola said.
The DVC said Fasina had enormously supported the cause of Islam on campus, saying, “He supported us greatly in realizing the dream of a mosque for the Muslims. He saw us through the building of our mosque from the scratch to its completion and often times funded the project with his personal money till we completed the mosque. He has also provided us a new site for a bigger mosque at Oye campus.
“The VC also attends the Convocation Jumaat service physically as a way of fully identifying with us” he said, and also cited the issue of dress code that accommodated female students such as wearing of hijab as embedded in the students’ hand book during Fasina’s tenure.
Opoola said that the VC also appointed many Muslims into key positions “including myself as DVC, Administration; the Registrar, Alhaji Mufutau lbrahim; the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof. Oyedokun Wasiu-Alli; the Director of FUOYE Medical Centre, Dr Olawale Musbau; the Director of the Directorate of Affiliations, Prof. Olaide Hammed; and Prof. Abiodun Ajiboye as Director of Newly established FUOYE’s Directorate of Trado-medical Products”.
“Others appointments, he said, included “Dr Modinat, Female Gender Desk Officer; Dr Ashiyanbi Serifat, Head of Department, History and International Studies; Dr Waheed Oladimeji, HOD Linguistics; Prof. Taofiq Nasir, HOD Religious Studies; and Mr Salahudeen Teslim, as Special Adviser to the VC on Students Affairs.
“There no is animosity between the Muslim community and the VC and other parties in FUOYE where we all relate with one and other in peace and harmony and like brothers and sisters on the campus irrespective of our faith divides,” the DVC said.
