Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has approved a two-year extension of the tenure of Osun State University Vice-Chancellor Professor Clement Adebooye, a move critics say sits outside the university’s law.

Adeleke announced the decision on Monday while inaugurating a reconstituted governing council in Osogbo. He said Adebooye first declined the extra term and later accepted. The governor argued that keeping him would protect continuity, avoid a vacuum and strengthen governance after what he called the university’s strong recent run.

The same event retained Professor Adewale Oladipo as pro-chancellor. Adeleke told the new council to work with management and not treat the two as rival centres of power.

Sahara Reporters and some staff have described the extension as contrary to the law governing the vice-chancellor’s fixed term. In Nigerian public universities, a VC’s tenure is usually set by statute, with a new appointment process when that term ends.

A visitor’s decision to roll the clock forward, they argue, short-circuits that process.

The government has not published a detailed legal memo defending the power to extend. Adebooye thanked the governor and pledged to keep working with the council. Whether the extra two years stand will depend on whether staff, the council or a court treats continuity as enough — or insists the law required an open contest for the job.