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 N1.5 billion 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. (The Guardian)

•JAMB Registrar Oloyede.

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