The Federal Ministry of Education (FMoE), on Sunday, disowned and described media publication on the Presidential Visitation Panel report on the University of Lagos (UNILAG), alleged to be the original report submitted to the panel, as fake and spurious.

It will be recalled that the presidential visitation panel was constituted by President, Muhammadu Buhari, to unravel the true cause of the administrative crisis in the University and the face-off between the former governing council led by Babalakin and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, which led to the unlawful suspension of the VC by the Dr Babalakin led governing council.

The publication of the fake report in the media, last week, had accused the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe of corruption and other staff of the institution of gross incompetence, financial impropriety and gross violation of procurement regulations.

However, Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Bem Goong, in a statement on Sunday accused the erstwhile chairman of the governing council of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Dr Wale Babalakin of sponsoring media reports that are not correct, thus misleading and misinforming the public.”

The statement read, “The attention of the Federal Ministry of Education has been drawn to several syndicated publications in the print Media, insinuating among other things that the Presidential Visitation Panel to the University of Lagos indicted the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ogundipe and the Management of that University.”

Besides, the disclaimed report also posited that the report exonerated the former Chairman of Council, Dr Olawale Babalakin.

Goong added, “The ministry wishes to state in very categorical terms that these claims are false, unfounded, and to say the least, mischievous, as they have no bearing with the report submitted by the panel, which was chaired by a reputable General, Martin Luther Agwai (Rtd).

The statement clarified that “The 7-Man Presidential Visitation Panel to the University of Lagos submitted its report along with others to the Hon. Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu on 31st August 2021 and not 7th of September, 2021 as claimed in the publications.

“Government is in the process of setting up White Paper Committees to address all the findings and recommendations of the Panels, including that of Unilag in a holistic manner. Government had earlier issued a White Paper on the report of the 2020 Special Presidential Visitation Panel to the University of Lagos which culminated in the dissolution of the former Governing Council and the reinstatement of the Vice-Chancellor,” the statement said.

The statement urged stakeholders and “the general public to ignore, in totality, these false, malicious and self-serving publications as well as their orchestration on Social and Electronic Media while we await the former release of the Government White Paper on the Panel’s reports.”

It will be recalled that the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation had on August 2, 2021 in a letter tagged: “Unauthorised Circulation of Official Documents/Information on Social Media” warned against the practice of posting confidential and classified government correspondences, policy drafts, minutes, notes memos on social media.

(Daily Independent)

Update news