Date: 2016-12-30

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, alleging more than N2bn fraud against the management of the University of Ilorin.

The petition was jointly signed by the Ibadan Zone Chairmen of ASUU, Doctors Ade Adejumo and Deji Omole. Others are Dr. Biodun Olaniran of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology; Dr. Dauda Adeshina of Kwara State University; and Dr. Kayode Afolayan of the University of Ilorin. ASUU, in the petition, said the former Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, and the incumbent Abdulganiyu Ambali, were involved in a fraud totalling more than N2bn.

ASUU described the University of Ilorin management as one of the most corrupt in any higher institution.

According to the petition, the institution has been operating under the pretext of keeping stable academic calendar to silence whistle blowers while perpetrating enormous fraud.

The allegations listed in the petition included pension fraud, unremitted deductions, extortion from students, contract inflation and kick-backs; as well as unlawful payments to ex-principal officers of the university.

Adejumo urged the EFCC to investigate the "monumental fraud perpetrated by the past and present administrations of the university."

They said the former vice chancellor, in 2011, doubled the amount of pension being deducted from staff under the pretext that the previous deductions were lower than what the law prescribed.

"For the avoidance of doubt, the legal minimum prescribed by Pension Act at the time was 7.5 per cent of emoluments and staff were paying even above this minimum.

"By way of comparison, in federal universities such as University of Lagos and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, the sum of N20, N124 and N62 is deducted from each professor's salary as pension contribution per month.

"However, in the University of Ilorin, the sum of N40, N206 and N42 is deducted monthly for the same pension contribution, contrary to law", it stated.

The petitioners also alleged a fraud of N1.5bn jointly perpetrated by the immediate past vice chancellor and the incumbent on fraudulent and unremitted deductions from staff salaries.

"Our preliminary investigations revealed that billions of naira have been extorted from population of about 35,000 students, including sandwich students, over the past years.

The union, therefore, called on the EFCC to do a diligent and thorough investigation of the allegations, adding that the anti-corruption agency would discover a can of worms.

A copy of the petition was stamped by the EFCC as received and dated 29th December, 2016. (NAN)