[Mhiz Rebecca]

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), accusing the administrations
of former vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin
( UNILORIN) Professor Ishaq Oloyede (now JAMB
registrar) and his successor, Professor Abdulganiyu
Ambali of N2 billion fraud.
ASUU in the petition made available to reporters in
Ibadan described the UNILORIN management as
highly corrupt, saying the institution has been using
the pretext of keeping a stable academic calendar
to silence whistleblowers while perpetrating
enormous fraud.
The Union called on EFCC to do a diligent and
thorough investigation of the allegations.
ASUU accused the management of pension fraud,
fraudulent and unremitted deductions, extortion of
students, contracts inflation and kickbacks as well
as unlawful payments to ex-principal officers of the
University, even after they have left the said offices
and have been working elsewhere.
While speaking with reporters in Ibadan on the
development, the Ibadan Zone Chairman of ASUU,
Dr Ade Adejumo, asked EFCC to investigate the
monumental fraud perpetrated by the
administration of Oloyede and the incumbent which
have consistently repressed the voices of opposition
against the frauds.
ASUU further alleged that Oloyede in 2011, doubled
the amount of pension being deducted from staff
under the false pretext that the previous deductions
were lower than prescribed by law.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the legal minimum
prescribed by Pension Act at the time was 7.5 of
emoluments and the staff were already paying even
above this minimum. By way of comparison, in
federal universities such as University of Lagos
( UNILAG) and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU),
Ile-Ife the sum of N20,124.62 is deducted from
each professor as pension contribution per month.
“However, at UNILORIN the sum of N40,206.42 is
deducted monthly for the same “pension
contribution”. Contrary to law, the extra deductions
did not derive from any agreement with the
workers; indeed, the forced deductions were
protested to no avail. For the avoidance of doubt,
the pension law does not empower an employer to
forcefully deduct above the minimum from any
employee. ”
“But the management pushed out the argument,
through their cronies that whatever amount is
deducted for pensions would be automatically
doubled and that the deductions were, therefore,
“for our benefit.” The import of this is that
government is being made, perhaps unknowingly,
to pay double the amounts prescribed by law, to
the Pension Fund Administrators and the
subscribers, thereby constituting an unwarranted
extortion or drain on the treasury. The quantum
involved in this fraud is in billions and is
continuing”
The petition also alleged a fraud of N1.5billion
naira jointly perpetrated by the immediate past
Vice-chancellor and the incumbent on fraudulent
and unremitted deductions from staff salaries.
“Having given the impression of assisting the
workers by extorting more from the treasury than
the law prescribes, the UNILORIN authorities now
set out to defraud the same workers by making
additional deductions from their salaries under false
pretext.
“From May 2012 to December 2013, the University
of Ilorin Administration deducted further sums
ranging from about N9,000 – N20,000 monthly
from each staff claiming these to be “arrears of
extra-deduction.” However, these extra deductions
never reflected in the pension statements of the staff
concerned to date. The quantum involved in this
fraud is in the neighbourhood of N1.5 billion.
“Our preliminary investigations revealed that
billions of naira have been so extorted from about
35,000 students including Sandwich students over
the past years.The group of graduating medical
students actually wrote to the authorities to
demand a refund but they were ignored.”
The union, therefore, asked EFCC to investigate the
allegations and rescue the institution from the
entrenched fraudulent activities.