The Governing Council of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), on Thursday appointed Professor Theophilus Soyombo as the Acting Vice Chancellor (VC) of the institution.

A statement by the Registrar/ Secretary to the Council, Oladejo Azeez, said the Council made the appointment at a meeting held in the early hours of Thursday in Abuja.

The statement urged the public to disregard the claim by Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe that he remains the substantive Vice Chancellor of UNILAG.

Recall that the Council, headed by Dr Wale Babalakin, SAN, had on Wednesday removed Ogundipe as the VC of the school.

The development was the culmination of the faceoff between Babalakin and Ogundipe which led to the school’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, declaring Babalakin an unwanted visitor to the university.

While seven members of the council were said to have voted for the removal of Ogundipe, four voted against it.

But one of them voted that he should rather be placed on suspension.

The meeting was chaired by the UNILAG Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of its Governing Council, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN).

The development prevented the Council from sitting on Unilag campus and had to shift its sitting to Abuja.

A terse statement by the Registrar and Secretary to the Council, Oladejo Azeez, titled, ‘Notice to the general public on the removal of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos’, read, “Ogundipe was sacked based on investigation of serious acts of wrongdoing, gross misconduct, financial recklessness and abuse of office.

“The general public is hereby notified that at an emergency meeting held on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, and in accordance with the statutory powers vested in it by law, the Governing Council of University of Lago removed Prof. Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS, from office as Vice Chancellor of the university with immediate effect.

“The decision was based on council’s investigation of serious acts of wrongdoing, gross misconduct, financial recklessness and abuse of office against Prof. Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS.”