Both presidential aspirants of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union (UI’SU) have maintained that the peaceful raising of placards does not constitute a procedural breach, disagreeing with former Students’ Union President Covenant Odedele’s position on the UI’3 ordeal.
The aspirants stated their positions at UI’SU Press Night’26 while responding to questions about the incident, which Odedele had blamed on the alleged breach of procedure by students who raised placards.
Their responses contrasted with their predecessor’s position on the matter, as both aspirants argued that peaceful placard-raising should not be regarded as a procedural violation.
The exchange comes amid lingering questions surrounding the UI’3 ordeal and the place of peaceful protest in students’ efforts to express grievances.
In a separate discussion on accommodation, Presidential aspirant Abiola Olaniyi identified overcrowding at Alexander Brown Hall (ABH) as a major concern, attributing the pressure on available facilities to the number of students who, he said, should have graduated.
Olaniyi cited the presence of two 600-level sets, one 500-level set and two 400-level sets at ABH as evidence of the accommodation challenge.
He proposed opening the new hall of residence and increasing the number of persons staying in an ABH room to make accommodation available to more students.
Speaking on the UI’3 matter, he also said the Students’ Union should stand by affected students and work pragmatically to ensure their return to school.
His comments followed remarks by Deboye, who reportedly argued that the court ruling on UI’3 did not stand because no representative of the university management was present.
This report is part of the Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ibadan (UCJ UI)’s Election Watchroom Initiative, which provides coverage of candidates and the electoral process of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union (UI’SU).
