The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Arc Sonny Echono, has raised the alarm that he has been maligned, defamed and falsely accused of refusing to suppress the report of a Presidential Panel to the University of Lagos despite the enormous pressure.

He also cried out that his email account was hacked on Monday and false messages sent out to the public.

While reacting to a publication in the media credited to Professor Boniface Oye-Adeniran, retired professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine of the University of Ibadan, for and on behalf of concerned Alumni of the University of Lagos, Echono said there was no iota of truth in the said publication.

The Federal Government had in 2020 set up a special presidential visitation panel to UNILAG following the leadership crisis that engulfed the institution when the vice-chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, was removed.

The second panel was the regular presidential visitation panel which was set up for all federal universities and four inter-universities centres to which the reports were submitted to the Minister of Education, on August 31, 2021, which some media reports claimed exonerated the former Pro-Chancellor of the University, Dr Wale Babalakin.

But Echono in a terse statement on Monday in Abuja, said: “This is outright fabrication. I never said the report existed but was not signed. They are leaving the substance of the claims which were rebutted viz: that the Governing Council followed due process in removing the VC and appointing the Ag. VC and that the VC was given a fair hearing. They claimed that the new Visitation Panel report exonerated the Pro-chancellor of these and indicted the VC and Management.

“I stated clearly that none of this featured in the TOR of the regular Visitation Panel except that all allegations against the VC and Mgt should be referred to the regular Visitation panel for investigation and recommendations.

“White paper committees have not been set up so I cannot preempt their work. But the new Panel did not review the work of the previous Panel so could not have upturned or exonerated the former pro-chancellor. Whatever false allegations they make against me cannot change the facts.

“I have been maligned, defamed and falsely accused of refusing to suppress the report of a Presidential Panel despite the enormous pressure. My email was hacked this morning and false messages are being sent. The public should take note, please,” he said.

(Nigerian Tribune)

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