Send indicted university officers out of office, SSANU tasks FG

National president of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Comrade Samson Ugwoke, has frowned the federal government’s refusal to suspend indicted principal officers of some universities on corruption of money laundry from office.
Comrade Ugwoke made this known at the 57th quarterly zonal meeting of SSANU western zone held at the Lagos State University (LASU),Ojo, Lagos recently.
Recall that last year, three top officials of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), were invited by the economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for their alleged role in an N800 million financial scandal. The Vice Chancellor, Olusola Oyewole, the Pro-Chancellor, Adeseye Ogunlewe, and the Bursar, Moses Ilesanmi were also allegedly involved.
Also on February 14 in Akure, EFCC arraigned the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Gregory Daramola, over allegations of fraud to the tune of N24 million. The Vice Chancellor was arraigned alongside the school’s bursar, Ayodeji Oresegun, for offenses of alleged misappropriation of public funds, misuse of office, and obtaining money under false pretence among others.
Also the University of Calabar in August last year suspended the bursar, Peter Agi, over allegations of fraud, forgery and threat to life. The former Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Boniface Egboka, was also affected in the series of investigation by the anti-graft agency.
He also warned that SSANU has not become a whistle blower that the union has always called management to order and warned them against mismanagement of funds but some of them think it is business as usual.
“SSANU has been doing this because we are at the centre of administration in the issue of university,talk of registry, bursary you find SSANU members there, if there is wrong procedure in the release of money or someone’s promotion truncated, we write petitions to the registrar and VC but in this case if the money siphoned is colossal to the detriment of our members we write them, in most cases they have been warned but they think it is business as usual and they don’t pay attention then we write to the President and the EFCC,” he said
On why the federal government has not done anything against Vice Chancellors and Bursars who have been charged with corruption the national president said “we have asked the President and Minister of Education to send all the indicted VCs and Registrars out of office because what is good for the goose is equally good for the Ganger, afterall some public office holders were accused of corruption and they are being tried in court, investigation has commenced into their matter and they are being asked to step aside.”
He said SSANU is after corrupt officers of universities not just VCs and has written the FG that those who have been accused and standing prosecution in a court of competence should step aside but nothing was done adding that one of the indicted VCs had the gut to conduct convocation and the federal government was represented at the occasion