The vice Chancellor of the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom, Professor James Tooley has been suspended from office.
His suspension follows his Nigerian wife’s allegation that he was involved in an overseas relationship, and now the suspension has placed his salary of £229,000 in a year in jeopardy, even as his credibility is now at stake.
The indicting report against the professor was incidented by his Nigerian wife, and entrepreneur,-mother of two, Cynthia Tooley, linking him to a romantic involvement with a 25-year-old Indian woman
She also submitted the young woman’s diaries, which detailed the alleged relationship, to university authorities.
The marriage which was consummated in February of 2022, suffered a hiccup last summer leading to the two separating.
Things took a turn for the worse when, last October, when Cynthia approached the University alleging the husband was involved in an illegal relationship.
She also raised issues about a supposed suspicious object at the professor’s residence, which prompted the police to visit the professor’s residence.
Though Tooley has described the allegations against him as baseless, he is already suspended, even as an independent enquiry is underway.
Cynthia, who once resided with Tooley at Ondaatje Hall, the Vice Chancellor’s official residence, has since moved out.
On the other hand, the Indian woman at the centre of the allegations has come up in defence of the professor’s person:
“He was kind and thoughtful and always treated me with respect. Anyone who reads my diaries can see I was in love with him.”
In the interim, the the University of Buckingham has appointed an interim leadership team, including Chief Financial Officer David Cole, Chief Administrative Officer Chris Payne, and Pro Vice-Chancellor Harriet Dunbar-Morris, to oversee operations during the investigation.