ASUU to EFCC: Release report on N2bn alleged fraud at UNILORIN

 THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to release its findings on the alleged N2 billion fraud petition on the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) it submitted to the agency over a year ago.

It also called for the recall of all sacked and victimised ASUU members at the Kogi State University, Lagos State University and UNILORIN.

ASUU said it would continue to expose corruption in universities despite victimisation of its members, and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to check the growing impunity at the UNILORIN.

It made the call in a statement signed by the coordinator of the Ibadan Zone of ASUU, Dr Ade Adejumo, entitled ‘Impunity and Disregard for the Rule of Law: the Cases of the University of Ilorin, Kogi State University and Lagos State University’.

The union noted that the anti-corruption agencies, including the Independent Corrupt Practices and related offences Commission (ICPC), the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the EFCC, had failed to bring the administrations of Professors Is’haq Oloyede and AbdulGaniyu Ambali as vice chancellors of UNILORIN to justice, despite substantial evidence that implicated them on corruption issues.

According to ASUU, the failure of the anti-corruption agencies to make public their investigations on the petition had made a mockery of the whistle blowing policy of the Buhari administration and allowed impunity to thrive while the whistle blowers, Drs Kayode Afolayan and Solomon Oyelekan, were sacked for daring to expose corruption at UNILORIN.

It appealed to the Visitor to the University of Ilorin to prevail on the council to recall sacked officials of the union, and constitute a “special probe panel of men and women of integrity to look into the books of past administrations in U UNILORIN.”

Dr Adejumo also said it was worrisome that the Lagos State University went ahead to sack members of the union, Drs Isaac Akinloye and Adebowale Adeyemi-suenu) for allegedly altering students’ results and demanding money from students without cogent evidence and asked Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to intervene.

“In a country where universities are short of qualified academic staff, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State terminated the appointment of 120 members of our union and got unqualified persons to impart the knowledge they do not possess.

“ASUU believes in the rule of law, and will continue to expose the dangers of the criminality that is presently going on in these universities despite victimisation of our members. We call on the visitors in these universities to stop the impunity and recall the sacked lecturers.”