…consultant denies allegation
By John Dike Osogbo
There was a palpable tension during Universality of Osun Staff Auditing as professor of mathematics at the University, identified as Amos Popoola was on Friday allegedly called ‘a bastard’ by the consultant handling the staff audit of the state workers.
In what many of the Academic Staff Union of the University perceived to be humiliation spark off a peaceful demonstration which attracted security agencies who invaded the campus to put the situation under control.
Prof. Popoola was said to have been humiliated by the consultant, Saadat Bakrin Ottun during the turn of the university for the ongoing audit ordered by the State Government for all its employees.
The consultant was also alleged to have seized one of the institution staff’s mobile phone as she claimed that the call she was receiving was interrupting the network being used for the exercise.
Members of the Academic Staff Union of University, ASUU and Senior Staff Academics Union of University who were reportedly dissatisfied with what they called an embarrassment and unruly behaviour by the consultant to a university Don
They were understood to have raised eyebrows, disrupting the exercise for several hours before the situation was calm down by the help of security men earlier alerted .
They all gathered outside the hall where the exercise was taking place expressing their displeasure with solidarity songs.
However , protesting staff of UNIOSUN called for government’s intervention to impress it on the consultant to tender apology for the misconduct.
The consultant, Ottun who left the venue in annoyance later returned to the venue to later restart the exercise when fray nerves seemed to have been calmed.
In an interview with journalists, Ottun who said he did not call anybody ‘a bastard claimed that she was a subject of abuse from the staff of the university instead.
She said: “To say I am in shock is an understatement over the alleged altercation, I am surprised because these are university staff, since 9 am we were here, it being one problem or the other.
A staff of the university had issue with a security operative of Osun Joint Task Force which I mediated. The phone was seized but I handed it over to one of the union members.
“I was walking out with the deputy VC when they refused to cooperate with the process, these people have not being cooperating with the exercise since morning which really affected us .
One of them addressed me as bastard and I was surprised, I said, You called me bastard ? I turned around and I entered my car. People heard my own side of “Oh, you called me a bastard” and turned it against me.
“Infact, the VC wanted to be upset and I told him that I am used to people. Of all the resource that we have the most difficult one to manage is human being. As a human resource manager, I can’t rise to the occasion every time somebody upset me. We are here willing to work under secured environment.
“All those allegations are mere fabrications, I was the one that was insulted and also maligned but I don’t have a problem with that, as a Human Resources Manager I am use to it. My concern is that they should not attack my staff and touch our equipment”, she concluded.
