In a series of consecutive ordinary and emergency meetings, the Senate has been deliberating on the assessment of misdemeanors by Senator John Oludele, the sports secretary of the University of Ibadan Medical Students’ Association, and the proceedings are on course to lead to an eventual temporary suspension from office. The genesis of this misdemeanor dates back to December 13, 2025, so this might be a long chronological read of events and constitutional references at necessary points. Hang on.
For a better understanding of how this unfolds, the 2022 Reviewed UIMSA Constitution, Chapter Four, Article XIII, 1 and 2 address the establishment and composition of the Senate. In that same chapter, Article XIV outlines the duties of every senate officer and senator. No. 20 under that article states that “A Senator shall attend all meetings convened by the Senate leadership.” For cases of unavoidable absences, Article XV (1) makes provision for a code of conduct that shall guide and remain binding on all senators. The code of conduct is known as the UIMSA Senate Rules and Ethics, hereinafter regarded as SRE. In the document, SRE 11 (m) states that “Notices of absence must be sent at least twenty-four (24) hours to the time of the meeting for ordinary meetings and six (6) hours to the time of the meeting for emergency meetings. In the event of an emergency that arises after the allowed period, the concerned Senator must inform the Senate Chair whose prerogative it is to determine tenability.” Also, absence at a meeting without prior notification is only permissible at the first count, the constitution frowns at it from the second count, irrespective of consecutiveness or otherwise. It is upon this base understanding that we shall establish blameless/guilty actions and inactions.
On December 13, 2025, Senator Oludele was absent at the fourth ordinary meeting of the Senate without a prior notice of absence. Four days later, December 17, 2025, he was absent at the second emergency meeting of the Senate without a prior notice of absence. That makes two counts and according to the SRE 11 (j), “Any Senator who becomes absent in 2 meetings without prior notification of the Senate Leadership shall be referred to the Senate Committee on Discipline.” The Chief Whip rightly referred to the Senate Committee on Discipline to hold their hearing with the defaulter, determine validity of excuses if there are, and present a report at a subsequent senate meeting. On April 17, 2026, Senator Oludele missed the third emergency meeting of the Senate without a prior notice of absence, taking the counts to three missed meetings without notices. The report of the Senate Committee on Discipline was not taken at the third emergency. On May 15, 2026, Senator Oludele was late to the fifth ordinary meeting of the Senate, arriving 45 minutes past time. At the meeting, the report of the Senate Committee on Discipline was taken and he was found guilty of missing the first two meetings, a motion was moved on the Senate floor to accept the recommendation of the Senate Committee on Discipline for the senator to pay a fine of 1500 Naira and write a letter of apology to the Senate to be submitted within 72 hours; there was no counter motion so the punishment stood.
On July 18, 2026, Senator Oludele was absent at the sixth ordinary meeting of the Senate without a prior notice of absence, making it his fourth missed senate meeting in the tenure. Upon inquiry, the Senate leadership confirmed that the Senator had sent in a notice of absence, albeit at a later time than the permitted window as stated in the SRE 11 (m) quoted somewhere up in this article. Also, the excuse was deemed untenable and unacceptable by the leadership as there was no proof to support his claim. In that senate meeting, he was referred to the Senate Committee on Discipline for the second time. The committee is expected to hold a hearing and present a report at the fourth emergency meeting of the Senate scheduled for July 25, 2026, of which a notice has been sent on July 24, 2026. If found guilty, the Senate will, by a simple majority vote, suspend the executive from his office, keeping with the provisions of the constitution as stated in Chapter Three, Article XII 5(b) that “The duration of the suspension in (5) above shall be determined by the Senate but shall not be more than 6 weeks.” This will be the first time in more than ten administrations that an elected executive of the association is temporarily suspended from office for misdemeanors. Also, there have been different individual comments from members of the association on the state of sports being non-existent in this tenure, despite it being a long one that affords the planning and execution of different activities.
Press’ Stance
At the fifth ordinary meeting, Senator Oludele should have been referred to the Senate committee on Discipline for the second time for missing three meetings (fourth ordinary, second and third emergency meetings), following Chapter Three, Article XII, No. 5a (ii) which says that “Absence from three meetings of the Senate of which he is duly notified without the permission of the Senate Chair.” Earlier in the constitution, 5a makes provision for cases that would warrant suspension from office and it says “Following a referral to the Senate as in (2) – (4) above, or following an independent referral to the disciplinary committee by the Senate, a member of the Executive Council shall be suspended from office, by a simple majority vote of the Senators present and voting at a duly-constituted Senate meeting, if he/she is found guilty of any of the following offences:..” of which the offence 5a (ii) is a part of. An independent referral should have been made at that meeting for the misdemeanour and a report should have been presented at the sixth ordinary meeting of the Senate where he will be deemed guilty or not and the necessary steps be taken. Upon inquiry, there was a misinterpretation of the constitution which led to a deliberation after the fifth ordinary meeting where it was agreed that he should be referred again. Because a referral had to be done in a Senate meeting, it had to wait until the next meeting which was the sixth ordinary meeting where he was eventually referred.
Such acts of disregard from a senator should always be frowned at. The Senate should also ensure that disciplinary issues regarding misdemeanors be taken very seriously. As such, hearings should be done as soon as possible and reports presented at the next possible meeting. Interpretation of the constitution should be a careful process that ensures preservation of the integrity of the Senate.