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RE: RESOLUTION OF THE (SUPPOSED) GREAT IFE STUDENTS UNION CONGRESS, HELD ON 9th SEPTEMBER, 2017
This administration of the Students Union has moved from Scandal to Scandal, effortlessly, since its birth.
The President of the Union Mr. Oyekan Ibukun, announced a Congress of all members of the Union in the earlier hours of Saturday, 9th of September 2017, 72hours after the conclusion of all examinations. The university had officially vacated for the semester since Wednesday 6th September, and the mass majority of the students have left for home.
The supposed Congress was attended by the Union President, six other members of the Central Executive Council, and their friends. About 24persons attended in all, and it held and was concluded in less than 2hours, precisely between 6pm and 8pm.
The effective item on the agenda was on the series of violence which occurred inside the office of the President of the Students Union, Mr. Oyekan Ibukun, in the evening of Tuesday 5th September, 2017. This case largely and falsely touted by the President, as a case of “two fighting”, I.e. A fight between the Union Vice-President Jacob Tosin Grace aka EMERALD and The Social Director Adebayo Adedayo Emmanuel aka LAMBA, has been reported in very controversial dimensions.
One false account claimed EMERALD made use of a bottle to stab LAMBA when prevented against her wish from leaving the CEC meeting by LAMBA. The more correct position is that LAMBA violently accosted EMERALD in an aggravated attempt to prevent her from leaving the President’s office, which was the venue of the said meeting. He pushed and head-butted EMERALD to the ground. Aside these two different accounts, some facts set clear
That the whole event happened at the very sight of the Union President, the Union Secretary General, The PRO and other CEC members except the Assistant Secretary General
That the Union President, Oyekan Ibukun from his seat ceased the attempt to stop the face-off, saying “Let them fight, it’s the case of two-fighting. Nobody should intervene. Lock the doors.”
That the Union President prevented the intervention of witnesses outside, who demanded to come into the office, on hearing the loud cries of the Vice-President, EMERALD.
That the Union President and all the other Executives present waited and watched the whole violence, and did nothing to bring it to a halt.
That the Union President prevented the Speaker of the Parliament, who eventually forced himself into the premises of his office to stop the violence.
THAT THE UNION PRESDIENT, BY HIS ABOVE CONDUCT AND WORDS AIDED AND ABETTED THE VIOLENCE WHICH HAPPENED INSIDE HIS OFFICE. HE SAT AND WATCHED THROUGHOUT.
THAT THE OTHER CENTRAL EXECUTIVE MEMBERS PRESENT INSIDE WITNESSED THE WHOLE PHYSICAL BATTERINGS DONE, THE HEADBUTTS, THE PUNCHES, THE TEARING OF EMERALD’S BLOUSE TO THE EXPOSURE OF HER BRA,etc, AND DID NOTHING TO MAKE IT CEASE
THAT ALL THESE CEC MEMBERS AS WELL AIDED AND ABETTED THE CRIME, WHATEVER ELSE THE CASE MAY BE.
THE VIOLENCE INVOLVED NOT TWO PERSONS, BUT ALL PERSONS PRESENT INSIDE THAT PADLOCKED PRESIDENT’S OFFICE. IT’S NOT EMERALD AND LAMBA, BUT THE WHOLE OF THE CEC.
Thus,
The Union President has no moral basis to have moderated a Students Congress, on this matter. That no man can be a judge in his own cause- nemo judex in causa sua- is a cardinal principle of fair hearing.
None of the Union executives have no basis to chair any students gathering or congress over this matter.
The Union President cannot be a judge in a case in which he is involved.
In Conclusion,
The Saturday evening congress is invalid. It is an intrusion on the true freedom and consent of the members of the Great Ife Students Union. The representatives of over 35,000students were the extreme minority of the CEC and their 25 friends. The Great majority of students have gone home.
That the said congress is a sham! It amounts to a criminal attempt to subvert the will of over 25,000 Great Ife students, subvert due process, mislead the unsuspecting public and gain cheap and dirty political victory through the back door!!!
It goes ahead to show to those who are still in doubt that the President of the union has questions to answer and he is therefore now making frantic efforts to cover up the whole issue. I wish to call the attention of Great Ife students to the sinister roles that other conniving members of the CEC have played. The P.R.O of the union has been reported to have publicly stated that there was even no case of violence at all. The President has continually said that my version of the story has been an attempt to pull down the image of the union and discredit the CEC. I wish to ask if this wasn’t present in his mind when I pleaded to be allowed to leave the room? I wish to ask if he doesn’t consider the attempt to spend union funds without following due process itself a damning act on the union. I wish to ask if the way and manner the Bus Scandal was handled wasn’t a shameful dent on the image of the union? I wish to ask that if sitting down to watch another CEC member assault another CEC member, the Vice-President for that matter, who was naturally more disadvantaged in such circumstances is not itself a violation of our image as a union and a desecration of our hallowed union building and principles.
Great Ife Students, the President has a case to answer and as a result the spotlight must be on him and his roles in the entire saga questioned. He must not be allowed to cover up the whole issue for cheap political ends at the expense of human dignity, justice and fairness.
SIGNED
Jacob Tosin Grace.