Court dismisses ex-OOU lecturer’s N2bn suit over denied promotion, unpaid entitlements

An Industrial Court in Ibadan has dismissed a N2 billion damages suit filed by retired Olabisi Onabanjo University lecturer Dr. Raymond Adegboyega against the institution over alleged denial of promotion and unpaid entitlements.

Adegboyega, who retired in 2022 from the Banking and Finance Department, claimed he was promoted only once since joining in 1992 and accused OOU of nepotism and ethnic bias for not promoting him further. He also sought payment for unutilized annual leave, unremitted cooperative and ASUU deductions, and a recalculation of his pension and gratuity based on the promotions he believed he deserved.

OOU’s counsel, Felix Ogunmade and Daniel Ola, urged the court to dismiss the claims as baseless and unproved. Ogunmade told the court that promotion at OOU is merit-based and depends on publications, professional membership and departmental recommendations. He said a 2019 recommendation for Adegboyega’s promotion to senior lecturer was stalled after a student petition alleging abuse of office.

On pension, Ogunmade argued that payments are handled by pension fund administrators, not the university. He also said Adegboyega chose not to take leave and provided no evidence of unremitted deductions.

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In his judgment, Justice J.D. Peters said promotion is a privilege, not a right.

“Promotion is not a right but rather a privilege which must be earned. There is no evidence before the Court that Claimant earned that promotion,” Peters ruled.

He dismissed the N2bn claim, stating, “You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stay. It will collapse.”

The judge also dismissed all other reliefs for lack of cogent, credible and admissible evidence.