EFCC grills Ogunlewe over N250m FUNAAB funds scam
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday interrogated a former Minister of Works and current Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe.
Ogunlewe was invited to the Ibadan office of the EFCC sequel to a petition written to the EFCC by a group known as Concerned Stakeholders of FUNAAB in which Ogunlewe and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olusola Oyewole, and other members of the university’s governing council were accused of mismanaging N250m.
According to sources at the university, Oyewole and Ogunlewe allegedly spent N250m for allowances in four years thereby plunging the university into financial crisis.
The anti-graft agency on its Facebook wall said that Ogunlewe was still being interrogated as of 4pm on Wednesday 31st August 2016 at the Iyaganku office of the EFCC.
‘According to a petition submitted to the EFCC, it was alleged that the pro-chancellor and the vice-chancellor engaged in an ‘unbridled corruption and betrayal of public trust.’
The former minister said the petition was initiated by the bursar who was aggrieved because the governing council refused to extend his tenure
Ogunlewe said he told the detectives that questioned him that the bursar asked for extension by one year and the council refused his application and that is why he is against the council.
‘Secondly, the bursar was involved in N27m missing funds and so it is him that the EFCC should be investigating. Thirdly, we are about to appoint a new VC so there is a lot of fighting and politics going on.’
Ogunlewe added that the council had no access to N250m and therefore dismissed the allegation.
He further said that all allowances are prescribed under the rules and regulation, the governing council sits only four times a year and the allowances cannot be altered. so the allegations are not true.
The Chairman of SSANU of the University of Ibadan, Wale Akinremi, who spoke on behalf of the leaders said the position SSANU as a union is that it ceases to recognise Prof. Oyewole as the VC of FUNAAB.
He said the suspended members were targeted because they wrote a petition against the VC to the EFCC.
‘We are saying that the Federal Government should beam its searchlight on the university system in Nigeria, especially on the pro-chancellors, the vice-chancellors and the bursars.’ he said.
