CSOs Accuses Pro-Chancellor, Registrar of Illegality and Disregard for Due Process in the Appointment of Bursar in Joseph Sarwuan Tarkaa University, Makurdi

Civil Rights Movement Against Corruption (CRAM), a civil society organization (CSO) that seeks to entrench due process and sanity in public governance as well as ensuring zero corruption at all levels of government has raised an alarm over what it described as a deliberate and malicious attempt by Hon. Edith C. Uwajumogu, and Dr. John Ujo David, the Pro-Chancellor and Registrar of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi respectively to subvert competency and existing rules governing appointments in Federal establishment by appointing an unqualified stooge as the Bursar of the institution for selfish reasons.

In a statement  signed by Comrade Seyi Adebanjo, the Executive Director of CRAM and made available to journalist in Abuja on the 9th of June, 2023, the CSO insisted that the illegality must be reversed and due process followed against the high-handedness and arrogance of the Pro-Chancellor and Registrar.

According to the statement, “as a civil society organization with a mandate to eradicate all forms of corruption in governance, we are saddened by the desperate attempt by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council to illegally appoint an unqualified person as the Bursar  and attempt to forcefully handover the very sensitive office of Bursar while sidelining more qualified candidates and the persistent calls by CSOs to halt the process, even to the extent of challenging the charade in court. Noting further that, it is shameful that high ranking appointees of the Government like the Pro-Chancellor and Registrar will choose to take such a dishonourable stance.

“The Pro-Chancellor, Hon. Edith Uwajumogu in particular has been involved in notorious scandals that makes one begin to imagine if the Joseph Sarwuan Tarkaa University has been privatized and she’s a sole owner. Not quite long ago, she had embarrassed the whole nation and the University community by announcing a Vice Chancellor for the same University even when the process had yet to be  concluded. Such gaffes are unbecoming of a high ranking appointee of her standing and can only be borne out of deliberate mischief with the intent to take undue advantage of others.

Aside the attempted fraud of foisting a misfit Bursar on the University community, CRAM has similarly accused the Pro-Chancellor of illegal sale of University property, maintaining a flamboyant lifestyle at the expense of the University’s lean resources and deliberately hoarding the report of the Visitation Panel and refusing to implement same all in a bid to protect his kinsman who was indicted on the grounds of sexual harassment.

The statement reads in part, “in flagrant disregard for instructions from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture against auctioning Federal Government property, the Pro-Chancellor auctioned University cars to her cronies on assumption of duty. As if that was not enough, she got the University to approve a whooping sum of 3 million (N3,000,000 ) for the maintenance of her private vehicles within few months of her resumption. By refusing to use the University’s Guest house as it’s by other Pro-Chancellors across the country including her predecessors, Hon. Edith Uwajumogu who carries an entourage of family members and friends has so far wasted millions of naira that would have been used for infrastructural development in the University. This might explain her insistence on appointing a quack who will do her bidding in the bursary department but we must continue to resist until the right thing is done for the interest of all concerned stakeholders.

“Similarly and most appallingly, the only University in Nigeria that has not acted on the last Visitation Panel constituted by the Muhammadu Buhari regime is the Joseph Sarwuan Tarkaa University, Makurdi thanks to the unyielding Pro-Chancellor. In a bid to protect her Igbo Kinsman, Hon. Edith Uwajumogu has sat on the visitation panel report and refused to release for implementation because one Professor Celestine Aguoru was indicted for sexual harassment of female students. This is a despicable offense in the University system to allow an academic accused of such a serious offense to continue to work for the University and wreck more havoc. The Pro-Chancellors disposition is tantamount to mortgaging the future of the University and making mockery of the high standards set by her predecessors”

The CSO expressed shock that even in the 21st Century where professionalism and competence are yardsticks for appointments and employments in all civilized climes, the Pro-Chancellor and the Registrar of Joseph Sarwuan Tarkaa University have chosen to jettison this convention in support of a candidate who did not meet any of the requirements stated in the vacancy announcement by the University probably in a bid to cover their tracks and jeopardize the University system.

“Recall that the position of Bursar at Joseph Sarwuan Tarkaa University, Makurdi was advertised in the Daily Trust Newspaper on the 13th of December, 2022  with specific criteria to be met by would-be applicants amongst which was the fact that the person must be of the rank of Deputy Bursar for at least 5 years of experience. On the 16th of February, 5 candidates where shortlisted, amongst them, one Mr. Ortese Tyoule Simon who has never been a Deputy Bursar and by extension not qualified to apply for the post in the first place. However with a twist of Machiavellian logic, the Registrar colluded with the University Council misleading to the announcement of Mr. Ortese Simon who, aside never being a Deputy Bursar is not qualified to be a Bursar because he’s a Director in the internal audit department of the University, his appointment, therefore, a contravention of Section 1709 of the Financial Regulations. This is not acceptable and must be reversed forthwith to give room for a qualified person and further avoidable scandals”, the statement added.

CRAM however commended the Ministry of Agriculture for wielding into the matter and setting up a committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the mess the Pro-Chancellor and his cohorts are seeking to put the University into at all cost, adding that the Federal Ministry of Education must tow the same line and impose punitive measures on the erring officials as well as review the purported appointment to serve as a deterrent to others and prevent a situation where henceforth, the society will begin to see lawlessness as a norm.

Part of the statement reads, “While we appreciate the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for responding to the call by  CSOs to put an end to this primitive imposition, we challenge the Ministry of Education and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and relevant authorities to immediately investigate this abnormally and bring the perpetrators to book. Furthermore, a visitation panel should be constituted and a thorough audit of funds allocated to the University done to unravel the cause of this hasty decision on the part of the council. In addition, we particularly ask that the Governing Council headed by Hon. Edith C. Uwajumogu be dissolved with immediate effect to give room for a competent team that’ll respect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and extant laws guiding the University system”.

The CSO finally sued for calm and advised members of the University community and stakeholders to go about their businesses without any fear as the matter is before the Federal High Court Makurdi and will soon be resolved hopefully in favour of due process and the rule of law. Stating further that, “with all parties to the matter served, it’s just a matter of time before justice will be done and the illegal appointment reversed to pave way for a competent Bursar who will pilot the affairs of the institution for prudent and sustainable financial management”

READ THE FULL SPEECH HERE

A CALL FOR THE REVIEW OF THE FRAUDULENT AND ILLEGAL APPOINTMENT OF BURSAR BY THE PRO-CHANCELOR AND REGISTRAR OF JOSEPH SARWUAN TARKAA UNIVERSITY MAKURDI IN TOTAL DISREGARD FOR DUE PROCESS

BEING TEXT OF A PRESS CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY SEYI ADEBANJO, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AGAINST CORRUPTION (CRAM) AT THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS CENTER, ABUJA ON THE 10TH OF JUNE, 2023.

PROTOCOLS

Silence in the face of an injustice is consent. It is based on the above conviction and our refusal to side with the oppressor and abandon our  mandate of ensuring zero corruption and entrenching good governance that we have called you here, distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the press. As our dependable allies, we are always confident that you’ll stand with us and amplify our voices and position on all issues that have direct bearing on the general masses. Today, we’re all gathered here because of the shabby, lopsided, illegal and ill-motivated appointment of a Bursar in the Joseph Sarwuan Tarkaa University, Makurdi.

As you are all aware, there are extant rules and regulations guiding the appointment and promotion of persons within the University system. As a system of checks and balances, a Governing Council is constituted for every University. This Council oversees the activities of the University with well defined functions including the approval of appointments in the system in line with the University Act and other existing extant laws. The Governing Council for Joseph Sarwuan Tarkaa University, Makurdi has been vested with the same weighty responsibilities but instead of doing the right thing, the Pro-Chancellor, Hon. Edith C. Uwajumogu an indigene of Okigwe LGA in Imo State has constituted herself into a nuisance in collusion with other principal officers of the University to act against the very laws and conventions she was appointed to protect.

In the imbroglio arising from the fraudulent and illegal appointment of the Bursar in the University, Hon. Edith C. Uwajumogu, and Dr. John Ujo David, the Pro-Chancellor and Registrar of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi respectively  have chosen to subvert competency and existing rules governing appointments in Federal establishment by appointing an unqualified stooge as the Bursar of the institution even when their preferred candidate is clearly unqualified on all fundamental grounds.

In insisting that this illegality be reversed and due process followed, we are not unaware of the high-handedness and arrogance of the Pro-Chancellor and Registrar of the University who seem to be acting from a script with the sole intention of covering their tracks and feasting on the scarce resources of the University at the expense of students and staff. It is shameful that high ranking appointees of the Government like the Pro-Chancellor and Registrar will choose to take such a dishonourable stance even after repeated calls for restraint by stakeholders.

Recall that the position of Bursar at Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi was advertised in the Daily Trust Newspaper on the 13th of December, 2022 with specific criteria to be met by would-be applicants amongst which was the fact that the person must have attained the rank of Deputy Bursar for at least 5 years to be qualified to apply. On the 16th of February, 2023, five (5) candidates where shortlisted, amongst them, one Mr. Ortese Tyoule Simon who has never been a Deputy Bursar and by extension not qualified to apply for the post in the first place. However with a twist of Machiavellian logic, the Registrar colluded with the University Council leading to the announcement of Mr. Ortese Simon who, aside never being a Deputy Bursar is not qualified to be a Bursar because he’s a Deputy Director in the internal audit unit of the University.

As is clearly spelt out in Section 1709 of the Financial Regulations of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, “the staff of the Internal Audit Unit shall not be employed within the Ministry, extra-ministerial office or other arms of government on accounting duties. Furthermore, an officer shall be precluded from taking the duties of internal audit staff if he has previously being engaged on accounting duties within the ministry, extra-ministerial office and other arms of government”. The insistence on appointing a Deputy Director in the internal audit Unit of the University is only convenient if the arrowheads have a grand plan to siphon the funds of the University in the near future or have something they desperately seek  to cover but that is certainly not legal and ethical. This is not acceptable and must be reversed forthwith to give room for a qualified person and further avoidable scandals.

It is sadly on record that the Pro-Chancellor, Hon. Edith Uwajumogu in particular has been involved in notorious scandals that makes one begin to imagine if the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University has been privatized and she’s a sole owner. Her first official albeit unofficial job at the University was to auction University cars to herself and cronies in direct disregard of instructions from the Federal Ministry of Education and the NUC against doing so. This she executed with the active connivance of the then Acting Vice-Chancellor , one Professor Paul Aunde Annune who proved to be a very weak administrator during his tenure. Investigations have shown that he partook in the purchase of vehicles in a University which he was superintending and whose interests he was supposed to protect.

Not quite long ago, the Pro-Chancellor, Hon. Edith Uwajumogu had embarrassed the whole nation and the University community by announcing a Vice Chancellor for the same University even when the process had yet to be concluded. Such gaffes are unbecoming of a high ranking appointee of her standing and can only be borne out of deliberate mischief with the intent to take undue advantage of others, obviously for monetary inducements.

Aside the attempted fraud of foisting a misfit Bursar on the University community, the Pro-Chancellor seems to have decided to live off on University funds, maintaining a flamboyant lifestyle like a celebrity from outer space. Few days after resuming duty, she coerced the University to approve a whooping sum of 3 million (N3,000,000) for the maintenance of her private vehicles. By refusing to use the University’s Guest house as it’s done by other Pro-Chancellors across the country including her predecessors, Hon. Edith Uwajumogu who carries an entourage of family members and convoy of security (Police and DSS) (who sleep in the same luxurious hotel) while coming for University functions has so far wasted millions of naira that would have been used for infrastructural development in the University. This might explain her insistence on appointing a quack who will do her bidding in the bursary department, but we must continue to resist until the right thing is done for the interest of the University and all concerned stakeholders.

The most appalling of all her atrocities is the deliberate hoarding of the last Visitation Panel report of Joseph Sarwuan Tarkaa University and refusing to allow for it’s implementation despite the fact that it was one of the reasons that led to the protracted strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) recently. This, we reliably gathered is in a bid to protect her Igbo Kinsman, Professor Celestine Aguoru who was indicted for sexual harassment of female students. In orchestrating a horrendous appointment of a misfit as the Bursar and also trying to hid a sexual abuser and predator based on tribal interest, the Pro-Chancellor has dishonoured the hallowed walls of the University community and should be shown the way out immediately. The Pro-Chancellor’s disposition is tantamount to mortgaging the future of the University and making mockery of the high standards set by her predecessors.

In the same university council, one of the external council members Adamu Mohammed Sani is also a serving council member at Federal Polytechnic Ede. This is against the regulation that one cannot serve on more than one Federal government council at a time. Several petitions have been written to the Pro-Chancellor, Hon. Edith Uwajumogu on this (with the Representative of the Ministry of Education on the University Council duly copied) but she has sat on it because the said Mr Adamu Muhammad is her hatchet man on the council. The man Adamu Mohammed Sani continues to serve on two Federal Government Councils drawing allowances and priviledges to date.

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we are shocked that even in the 21st Century where professionalism and competence are yardsticks for appointments and employments in all civilized climes, the Pro-Chancellor and the Registrar of Joseph have chosen to jettison this convention in support of a candidate who did not meet any of their requirements stated in the vacancy announcement by the University. This must be thoroughly investigated to unravel the motive behind this unjustifiable act.

We therefore commend the Ministry of Agriculture for wielding into the matter and setting up a committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the mess the Pro-Chancellor and her cohorts are seeking to put the University into at all cost. We equally call on the Federal Ministry of Education to tow the same line and impose punitive measures on the erring officials to serve as a deterrent to others and prevent a situation where henceforth, the society will begin to see lawlessness as a norm.

While we appreciate the efforts of all stakeholders to end this primitive imposition, we call on the Economic and Finanancial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately launch an independent investigation to ascertain cases of abuse of office, punish offenders accordingly including sacking those involved.  Furthermore, a visitation panel should be constituted and a thorough audit of funds allocated to the University under the tenure of the present Pro-Chancellor carried out to unravel the cause of this hasty decision on the part of this seemingly weak Council.

A situation where the council superintends over the illegal auction of university vehicles to cronies as was done by the university authorities contravenes all rules and morality. At the moment, the university has very few official vehicles. This must be checked in order to bring the the Pro-Chancellor, Hon. Edith Uwajumogu and co-culprits to book.

Lastly, ladies and gentlemen of the press, we demand the immediate dissolution of the current Governing Council headed by Hon. Edith C. Uwajumogu to give room for a competent team that’ll respect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and extant laws guiding the University system. This in addition to the fact that the current Council has to go to give auditors a free hand to do their job if the Federal Government is sincere in its fight against financial crimes.

As a CSO, we call for calm from members of the University community and stakeholders in this matter with the hope that justice will be done as the case is already in Court and all parties have been duly served. In no distant time, it is our hope that the University will get a competent Bursar who will be prudent and transparent in financial management in line with global best practices.