Lecturers ask FG to probe UniAbuja 2021 visitation panel report
The report, which was submitted to Adamu Adamu, the formr minister of education and published on the ministry's website, showed there were series of discrepancies in audited reports during the 2019/2020 session.
Some aggrieved professors at the University of Abuja have called for the investigation of over N3 billion alleged fraud uncovered by a report of the 2021 presidential visitation panel to the university during the 2019/2020 academic session.
The call is coming on the heels of the recent appointment of Aisha Maikudi as the substantive vice-chancellor of University of Abuja.
While the university has denied breaching any law in the appointment of Maikudi, the lecturers, the aggrieved lecturers claimed that there was a sinister ploy by individuals complicit in the alleged fraud to put her at the helms of affairs in to deter any investigation.
According to them, the report, which was submitted to Adamu Adamu, the formr minister of education and published on the ministry’s website, showed there were series of discrepancies in audited reports during the 2019/2020 session.
They added that that the governing council of the university at the time failed to take measures to correct them.
They further alleged a correlation between Maikudi’s appointment as the vice-chancellor of the university and attempts to cover up activities of the then governing council, which was chaired by Sani Maikudi, father of the VC.
On June 11, 2021, the presidential visitation [anel to the University of Abuja led by Bujar Goni Aji, which was inaugurated on April 13, 2021, submitted its report within 60 days, covering 2011-2015 and 2016-2020 sessions.
“The panel observed that the governing council had taken policy steps of boosting the IGR base of the university through upward review of student fees and blocking of leakages in payments,” the 342-page report said in part.
“To this effect, the council approved the engagement of Messrs Edutech Portal Solutions, at the cost N18,900,000, for the deployment of Student Fees Management Portal to block leakages in payments.
“The Panel however noted that based on the official students’ enrolment and the approved student fees as at 2019/2020 session, the university had the propensity of generating N 4,869,033,958 as against N1,654,896,918 declared by the University Bursary in the Panel’s DGT (see Chap 4 & Vol II, Appendix 50, Page 437).”
The panel also recommended that “Council should investigate the wide discrepancy between the figure of
the IGR from student fees as declared by Bursary; and that deduced by the Panel from the official enrolment data and approved fees and charges.”
