{"id":99468,"date":"2026-06-27T20:38:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T20:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=99468"},"modified":"2026-06-27T20:40:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T20:40:23","slug":"sexual-harassment-allegations-divide-opinion-as-csos-urge-senate-to-reject-ex-fuoye-vcs-ambassadorial-nomination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=99468","title":{"rendered":"Sexual Harassment Allegations Divide Opinion as CSOs Urge Senate to Reject Ex-FUOYE VC’s Ambassadorial Nomination"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u25cf Supporters Insist Fasina Was Cleared, Describe Campaign as Politically Motivated<\/strong><\/p>\n

The nomination of former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina, as Nigeria’s ambassador has sparked a fresh wave of controversy, with\u00a0 a large number of civil society organisations calling on the Senate to suspend his confirmation pending the conclusion of ongoing legal proceedings linked to allegations against him.<\/p>\n

The coalition, comprising leading women’s rights organisations, governance advocates and prominent public figures, submitted a petition dated June 25, 2026, urging lawmakers to withhold approval of the nomination until all criminal and civil cases involving the former vice-chancellor have been determined by the courts.<\/p>\n

Among those backing the petition are former Minister of Education Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria, Yiaga Africa, Bring Back Our Girls, Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Women Aid Collective (WACOL), Project Alert on Violence Against Women, Stand to End Rape (STER), Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), Women Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON), Women Environmental Programme (WEP), Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Women Wing, and several others.<\/p>\n

Signed by Womanifesto Co-Convener, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, on behalf of the coalition, the petition was addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio through the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Abubakar Sani Bello, ahead of the screening of ambassadorial nominees. Copies were also forwarded to the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu.<\/p>\n

Coalition Raises Integrity Concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the petition, the organisations argued that while every citizen enjoys the constitutional presumption of innocence, ambassadorial appointments require candidates whose integrity is beyond question because they represent Nigeria’s image and values internationally.<\/p>\n

According to the coalition, confirming a nominee while criminal and civil proceedings remain unresolved could undermine public confidence in Nigeria’s institutions and expose the country to reputational risks.<\/p>\n

The petition references allegations including sexual harassment of a female staff member, abuse of office, workplace victimisation, intimidation, retaliation, and human rights violations during Fasina’s tenure as FUOYE Vice-Chancellor. It further claims that one of the sexual harassment allegations is supported by a 37-minute audio recording currently forming part of evidence before the National Industrial Court.<\/p>\n

The coalition also stated that following complaints lodged with the ICPC, the anti-corruption agency investigated the allegations and initiated criminal proceedings, which it said remain pending. It added that separate civil suits involving allegations of sexual harassment and workplace victimisation are also before the National Industrial Court in Abuja and Ikoyi.<\/p>\n

As part of its argument, the petition cited the National Industrial Court judgment in Akingbe v. FUOYE (NICN\/AK\/58\/2018), in which the court found that the university violated the claimant’s right to fair hearing during disciplinary proceedings and awarded N40 million in damages against the institution.<\/p>\n

According to the petitioners, the Senate’s constitutional responsibility extends beyond verifying eligibility, requiring lawmakers to also assess the character, integrity, judgment and public standing of nominees.<\/p>\n

“The issue before this Committee concerns public confidence in the rule of law. It concerns the credibility of Nigeria’s commitment to accountability, human rights, dignity, gender equality and institutional integrity,” the coalition stated while urging the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to defer Fasina’s confirmation until the pending cases are concluded.<\/p>\n

Pro-Fasina Group Pushes Back<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, supporters of the former vice-chancellor have strongly rejected the campaign against his nomination.<\/p>\n

The FUOYE Progressives, a group comprising students, alumni and staff members of the university, described the petition as a politically motivated effort aimed at frustrating Fasina’s appointment.<\/p>\n

Speaking on behalf of the group, its spokesperson, Dr. Kehinde Alao, maintained that the allegations against Fasina had already been investigated by relevant authorities, who found no evidence warranting sanctions.<\/p>\n

According to him, investigations conducted by the police as well as two successive Governing Councils of FUOYE, including one chaired by former Senate Leader Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, cleared the former vice-chancellor of the allegations.<\/p>\n

The group argued that revisiting issues they believe have already been addressed amounts to an attempt to damage Fasina’s reputation despite previous institutional findings.<\/p>\n

Fasina Denies Allegations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Professor Fasina has consistently denied all allegations of sexual harassment, abuse of office and misconduct.<\/p>\n

During the controversy while serving as Vice-Chancellor, he maintained that he never sexually harassed the complainant and challenged aspects of the ICPC’s investigation in court.<\/p>\n

In April 2025, he obtained an interim order from the Federal High Court in Lagos restraining the ICPC from arresting him or taking further action pending the hearing of his suit challenging the investigation.<\/p>\n

His supporters insist that the legal process should be allowed to run its course without prejudice and argue that the presumption of innocence remains a fundamental constitutional right.<\/p>\n

Senate Awaits Decision<\/strong><\/p>\n

The controversy now places the Senate at the centre of competing arguments over accountability, due process and the standards expected of public officials nominated to represent Nigeria abroad.<\/p>\n

While the coalition insists that unresolved allegations and pending court cases should disqualify the nomination for now, supporters of Professor Fasina maintain that previous investigations exonerated him and that he should not be denied appointment on the basis of allegations he continues to contest in court.<\/p>\n

The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs is expected to consider the petition alongside the nomination as it proceeds with the screening of ambassadorial nominees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u25cf Supporters Insist Fasina Was Cleared, Describe Campaign as Politically Motivated The nomination of former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina, as Nigeria’s ambassador has sparked a fresh wave of controversy, with\u00a0 a large number of civil society organisations calling on the Senate to suspend his confirmation pending the conclusion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":99469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,7],"tags":[3783,3446,8470,1272],"class_list":["post-99468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jobs","category-news","tag-ambassador","tag-csos","tag-fasina","tag-rape"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99468"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99472,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99468\/revisions\/99472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/99469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}