Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Isaac Adewole, has dismissed the report by a blogger about his alleged involvement in recruiting mercenaries to be used to rig today’s governorship election in neighbouring Osun State.

He told newsmen yesterday in his office that the university neither had mercenaries nor was there any intention to recruit any to be used to rig the election in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, as alleged by the blogger.

Prof. Adewole said: “I am not attached to this occasion. It is jaundiced journalism per se. I got it last night as was published by a blogger. The post suggested that I was in Abuja for over a week, but, surprisingly, I never left Ibadan. Immediately I got the information, I burst into uncontrollable laughter.”

The report in iReports-ng.com had claimed that Prof. Adewole had been in Abuja for the past week to get ‘proper briefing.’ It also claimed that part of the briefing already given Prof. Adewole in Abuja was to recruit about 300 pliable staff of UI as collation officers for the osun election.

Clearing the air, Prof. Adewole said that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, had requested to get some top staff members of the university involved in monitoring and collation of results during the Osun governorship ballot.

His words: “Because of the closeness of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission with the institution, a request was made to recruit some senior staff members of the University of Ibadan, in which some of them are key members of ASUU, to help monitor and collate the results of the election in Osun State. So, I don’t know why this is going beyond a matter of understanding. I had even never showed my face.”

Prof. Adewole advised bloggers and users of social media to always double-check information before they start making it public as wrong information could cause harm and injure relationships.

•Photo shows UI Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Adewole.

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