ASUU: Iyayi's Death Stirs Controversy among Union Chapters

The Academic Staff of Universities (ASUU) has banned processions in honour of it former leader, the late Prof. Festus Iyayi by the University of Ilorin.

It was gathered that a faction of the union at Unilorin  led by Professor Wahab Egbewole planned to hold aprocession for the Iyayi.

Iyayi died after a bus conveying ASUU leaders was involved in an accident with a vehicle in the convoy of Kogi State Governor Idris Wada in Lokoja last week.

ASUU said it has not approved any procession for any of its branches. It also described the planned procession in Ilorin as hypocritical.

In a release issued in Ibadan on Tuesday and signed by the Zonal Coordinators of Ilorin and Ibadan zones, Dr. Ayan Adeleke and Dr. Adesola Nasir, titled “Do not desecrate the memory of our late president” ASUU said the national leadership of the union would not stand for any attempt by any group in the University of Ilorin to desecrate the memory of its late leader.

“The attention of the union has been drawn to attempts by a group led by Professor Wahab Egbewole of the University of Ilorin to desecrate the memory of the late former President of our union by issuing a notice of a so called “procession” for him in the University of Ilorin,” the statement read in part, adding that the factional leader has been expelled from the unionand its activities.

The coordinators said Prof. Iyayi had during his lifetime spoken against the inhuman and degrading treatment being meted out to genuine members of the union in Ilorin, stressing that it would be wrong for a group to attempt to make publicity gains from his death.

“Our late president, who in the past had suffered the same kind of degrading and inhuman treatment being meted out to genuine ASUU representatives in the University of Ilorin, constantly spoke against the charlatanism of those who are illegally parading themselves as ASUU officials in the branch. Indeed, Iyayi was against everything that Egbewole and his group stand for in relation to ASUU. It is therefore the height of provocation and insensitivity for the group to seek to make publicity gains out of the death of our late former president,” ASUU said.