06/01/2016
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State,
Tuesday, signed a bill into law converting the
Lagos State University, LASU, Ojo, to a residential
institution, as well as approving 70 years
retirement age for professors of the institution.
LASU
The law, LASU (Amendment) Bill 2015, also
approved a five-year single term for the Vice
Chancellor of the institution.
Over the last few years, there has been a running
battle between the institution’s chapter of the
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, with
the immediate-past Vice Chancellor, Prof. John
Obafunwa, over demands that the school
approves 70 years as retirement age for
professors, single term of five years for Vice
Chancellor, among others.
Signing the bill into law at the State House, Ikeja,
Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Tuesday, Ambode
said the amended law is aimed at raising the
standard of the school to an enviable position
and a school that people would be proud of.
The governor said it is the desire of the state
government to build a LASU that would produce
better students, saying that in the next few days,
changes would begin to take place in the school.
Deputy Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly,
Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni said the law was
amended to address the acrimonies that arose
during the tenure of Prof. Obafunwa as Vice
Chancellor of the school.
He said the major reform of the law is approving
five-year single term for the Vice Chancellor of
the school in order to prevent the crisis often
encountered when the Vice Chancellor’s position
runs for two terms.
Another major reform in the law, he disclosed, is
converting LASU to a residential campus, while
the retirement age of professors of the institution
would now be 70 years instead of the usual 65
years.
He said turning the school to a residential
campus would help in mitigating incessant
clashes between students of the school and Iba
residents.
Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve
Ayorinde had in November, 2015 said the LASU
(Amendment) Bill 2015 was meant to serve as an
improvement over the two previous amendments
in 1990 and 1992 with the aim of finding lasting
solution to the challenges that have plagued the
state-owned institution in recent years.
“The bill is proposing to amend certain sections
of the Law to meet current realities in line with
best practices. It seeks to review the exercise of
general supervision over discipline in the
university imposed on the Vice-Chancellor and to
propose a single term of five years for the
institution’s Vice-Chancellor,” he had said.
He added that the LASU Bill also sought an
amendment that would make the appointment of
the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the
Governing Council the prerogative of the Visitor in
line with standard practice.
“Yet, it seeks an amendment to Section 36(1) and
(2) of the Law which deals with admission policy
to place the responsibility of determining the
minimum admission requirement on the Senate of
the university,” he said.