We’ll welcome govt visitation panel —FUTA management

The authorities of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), on Tuesday, said the management of the institution would welcome any visitation panel set up by the Federal Government to investigate the allegation of fraud against the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebiyi Daramola.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) of the institution, Professor Olatunde Arayela, who stated this during a press conference in Akure, called on the protesting workers of the institution not to be a judge in their own case and should not presume that the vice chancellor is guilty until after the investigation is concluded.

Arayela explained that men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had invited Daramola to its headquarters in Ibadan where he gave statements on the allegations against him.

He specifically pointed accusing fingers to two non-teaching staff unions of the institution as the brain behind the invitation of Professor Daramola by EFCC.

He said “Two non-teaching staff unions in the university could be fingered as having orchestrated the petition which was apparently based on the audit query issued to the university sometimes ago and to which the university gave the required explanations.”

The deputy vice chancellor noted that most of the allegations against the VC were spurious, lacking necessary documents to back them up.

He, however, said “It is the opinion of the university management that the law enforcement agents, EFCC, should be allowed to do its job.

“Since the Vice Chancellor has not been pronounced guilty by the law enforcement agent, he should reasonably and by the provision of the law of the land be adjudged innocent. The unions cannot pre-empt the law enforcement agency or be the judge in their own case.”

He explained that the genesis of the crisis within the university emanated from the position of the university on the circular from the Federal Government which stated that staff schools were established as private enterprises and to be funded by the institutions that established them.

He said the management of FUTA relieved the teachers of the staff school of their jobs on the basis of the circular from the Federal Government and opened windows for them to retain their jobs by applying for the same under the management of the institution’s board.

Professor Arayela explained that all attempts to reopen the school since January have been truncated by the unions and the sacked teachers, saying “the implementation of the Federal Government directives by the university management, to the unions, is a major perceived offence of the vice chancellor.”