BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

BENIN – The Edo State Government White Paper on the Visitation Panel set up by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to look into the affairs of the Ambrose Alli University (AAU) Ekpoma has uncovered unwholesome practices, including contract-splitting, wasteful expenditure, inaccurate data and other sharp practices by the authorities of the institution.

In addition, the state Government has directed authorities of the University to liaise with the state Ministry of Justice to update the obsolete laws governing the school.

This was part of the decisions of the Government in its White Paper on the findings and recommendations of the Visitation Panel set up by the state Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on August 10, last year, to look into the affairs of the state-owned University.

Headed by Prof T.O.K Audu, the panel had found that there are “existing university statutes that are being operated without necessary amendment or up-dating. Such provisions include the single five-year tenure for the appointment of Vice Chancellors into Nigerian Universities and the creation of two offices of two Deputy Vice Chancellors for Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma that are not reflected in the subsisting Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma Law 1999 (As amended).”

The White Paper also directed the Accountant-General and Auditor-General of the state to, within 30 days, reconcile the accounts of the university with a view to confirming the actual releases to the University between June 2004 and June 2009.

This is to clear the cloud on the findings of the visitation panel which indicted the varsity management of wasteful spending.

According to the panel, “AAU Management was not prudent in its expenditure. For example, over 38% of funds meant for Accreditation Programmes were expended on beautification projects. That was a clear case of misallocation of scarce funds. AAU management was also wasteful in its use of Internally-Generate Revenue for financing capital projects.”

The panel report maintained that “some contracts were deliberately split to make them fall within the minor works committee approval limit of N700,000. Contracts were varied without due process, the bursary data was confusing.”

The White paper recommended that the University should bridge the gap between its income and expenditure, maintaining that “the huge deficit of N233,300,620.32 is unhealthy”, while it also asked the Bursar to, within 21 days, “explain the origin of the sum of N1,158,391,497.00 representing the difference between the amounts recorded by the External Auditors and those reported as Actual in the Budget Book.”

In line with the recommendation of the panel that “the Vice Chancellor, Prof D.O Aigbomian’s splitting of contracts was irregular and a clear violation of the principle of transparency”, the Government directed the said Vice Chancellor to “explain his clear violation of due process within 30 days of the release of the White Paper”.

The Panel said it found it difficult to confirm and ascertain the actual students’ population, especially that of part-time students.

“It said it found it difficult to know how the part-time programme was managed. It however said it discovered that “there was no management committee running part-time programme and no sharing formula for revenue derived from the programme”.

Meantime, the Government has directed the school’s management to investigate claims by a lecturer in the University’s Department of Sociology, Prof M.I Isokun to the existence of AAU fake degree certificates.

Prof Isokun had alleged in a memorandum to the Panel that there was a spate of “fraud and corruption at AAU, administrative recklessness, mismanagement, abuse of law and due process, tolerated mis- education and scandalisation of staff and students, ethnocentricisation and politicization of the University.”

The White Paper however appealed to Public-spirited individuals, philanthropists, foundations and Ambrose Alli University Alumni to donate more hostels to the University and endow chairs to enhance sustained research.

It also asked the University authorities to try and explore the PPP arrangement in provision of accommodation so that more students can be accommodated.

Other members of the Visitation Panel were Mr S.I Ekhator, Prof J.B.O Aregbeyan, Prof (Mrs) O Okojie, Mr. V.E Agbonrofo, Dr A Momoh and Princess (Mrs) E Inneh, who served as Secretary.