Administrative Issues and Financial Oversight: Highlights from the Latest FLC Plenary Session

Jolaade Ifeoluwayimika

The third plenary session, held on July 27, 2024, at the Room 71 of the Faculty of Arts building, commenced around 11:54 a.m – 1 hour 54 minutes after the scheduled time – due to “unforeseen circumstances.” The meeting began with 14 members, including the Speaker. The Deputy Clerk read the minutes from the previous meeting, which were adopted following a motion by Honourable Daniel Yeboah, seconded by Honourable Bisi from the History constituency. The Speaker announced the letters of notification of absence from Honourable Erioluwa of the Classics constituency, Honourable Olaleye Azeezat of the Arabic constituency, and the Deputy Speaker. Following this, two members—one returning and one new—were inaugurated.

The members were then informed of a release titled “A Rejoinder – AFAS Constitution and the Fate of the Welfare Director Elect” written by AFAS President, Olamilekan Adeniyi, which was addressed to AFAS Press, all departmental press, and all departmental presidents. In resoonse to the rejoinder, Honourable Lawal from the English constituency criticized the release, when he described it as  an “incitement to cause confusion within AFAS”. He stated that the Executive President had no right to interfere in the activities of the FLC. However, Honourable Divine from the Classics constituency acknowledged the flaws in the rejoinder but urged the house to maintain order and avoid hasty decisions. The Speaker then criticised those who remained silent on the rejoinder, labelling them as timid.

Honourable Yeboah Daniel proposed questioning the President about the lack of proper address towards the Speaker, but the Speaker countered. Yeboah also noted that “some honourable members and the Speaker are uncomfortable with the rejoinder,” showing his indifference towards the released rejoinder.

Regarding the rejoinder, Honourable Olufemi moved a motion, seconded by Honourable Oyindamola, requiring the President to apologise to the house for the improper address, perform community service, and face suspension if such behavior recurs. Additionally, it was proposed that the newly created group for departmental presidents be dissolved immediately. Honourable Essien, the Chief Whip, introduced a subsidiary motion, which passed with 9 votes. This motion required the President to apologise for not addressing the Speaker properly, for involving former Speaker Rtd Hon Alagunfon Lukeman, and to do so before the Executive budget discussion. The President was also required to undertake two weeks of community service, sign an undertaking not to interfere in FLC affairs under threat of suspension, and dissolve the created groups before the Executive budget discussion. It was immediately followed by a 15 minutes recess.

Resuming from the recess, the Speaker announced, “We will postpone execution until Monday and await further directives, which will be sent to the FLC WhatsApp group, the secondary venue for plenary sessions. The clause of the motion remains, but execution is on hold.”

The inauguration of the electoral college was postponed due to the absence of the clerk, who was needed for the full details. The Speaker announced that the inauguration would take place at the next sitting.

Afterwards, the Welfare Director was summoned to address her position following the adoption of a new constitution that does not include her role. She explained her ordeal, noting that she had passed the screening, press night, and election process and had begun planning her agenda when she was informed that the constitution did not provide for her position. Initially deemed a minor issue, it had since escalated. She highlighted potential challenges the faculty might face without a Welfare Director and argued that it would be unfair to task the Social Director with planning events, as it was not part of his responsibilities. The Speaker proposed introducing a bill to create the position of Welfare Director. After receiving no response from the members, the elected Welfare Director was allowed to take a bow.

The treasurer presented the financial report, which showed a “Cash at hand – #280,000.” He was questioned about this discrepancy, as it violates Article 46, Section I, Roman numeral 5 of the constitution, which limits the amount of cash the treasurer can hold to #10,000. The treasurer defended his action by claiming that the Staff Advisor, who holds the account signature, was unavailable. However, this defense seemed like an attempt to avoid punishment, as the Staff Advisor’s signature is required only for withdrawing funds from the association’s account. In response to this constitutional violation, Honourable Divine proposed a motion requiring the treasurer to deposit the excess cash into the association’s account by Monday and provide proof to both the Staff Advisor and the Audit and Finance Committee. Honourable Theophilus added a clause to the motion, stipulating that the treasurer must sign an undertaking to ensure such a breach does not recur and that any future violations would result in disciplinary measures.

The General Secretary, Abiola Samuel, then presented a proposed supplementary budget for the last session’s notebook package. An amount of ₦135,000 was approved, with no additional supplementary budget.

The FLC welfare budget was reviewed, and Honourable Olufemi moved a motion to approve ₦106,800 for seven sittings, including the valedictory sitting. Honourable Babatunde seconded the motion with no subsequent counter-motions.

The proposed executive administrative budget for the 2023/2024 academic session was also presented and approved as follows: ₦41,600 for the office of the President, ₦45,550 for the offices of the General Secretary and Assistant General Secretary, ₦55,000 for the office of the Director of Socials, ₦36,000 for the office of the Director of Information and Publicity, and ₦34,800 for the office of the Treasurer, totalling ₦212,900.

Finally, other business items were addressed. Honourable Yeboah Daniel raised concerns about inactive members, and the Speaker assured that the issue would be reviewed. Honourable Olufemi also noted that the men’s toilets were being used by females.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:01 PM following a subsidiary motion moved by Honourable Essien and supported by the Deputy Clerk, Hon Precious.