A whistleblower, who has exposed sleaze and corruption at the Ogun State-owned Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, has been hunted down by the authorities, Persecondnews exclusively reports.
The endemic corruption running into several millions of naira involves some principal officers and their subordinates, according to the whistleblower, the suspended Deputy Registrar.
Persecondnews gleaned from documents and sources that the corruption was perpetrated in the twilight of the administration of the immediate past Rector, Dr Adeola Odedina, who has been appointed the Commissioner for Agriculture in the state by Gov. Dapo Abiodun in 2019.
Specifically, Higher National Diploma final year students were extorted and fleeced running into several millions before being “mobilized’’ for National Youth Service. Compulsory levies, it was learnt, were collected from the graduating students before they were given their call-up letters at the Student Affairs Department.
It was gathered that another staff in the Registry was caught in the act of falsifying results of students and some academic fraud.
Consequently, he was ordered to be redeployed by another former Rector, Prof. Oludele Itiola from the Academics Department to the Maintenance Department.
No sooner than the rector left the school, the officer, a member of the ring, was redeployed to the Entrepreneurship Department, and the “untouchable’’ officer who has a god-father in the system, again perpetrated a multi-million naira fraud by preparing payment schedule for conference marking and invigilation allowances of staff.
As serious as the fraud case was, the officer was sent to the Staff Disciplinary Committee and the verdict was just a “warning letter’’ for the graft.
Also being fingered in the atrocities and corrupt practices that have pervaded the institution is one of the first three Principal Officers (name withheld) against whom two Deputy Registrars wrote petitions.
Findings from the Registry Department are that the petition was removed from his file so as not to implicate him. One of the Deputy Registrars who blew the whistle was, however, sent on compulsory two months suspension without pay.
He had insisted that the corruption allegations must be investigated by the Ogun State Government as the large-scale theft has been going on for at least six years.
For instance, some principal officers had been withdrawing large sums of money from the Entrepreneurship Directorate Accounts illegally as contained in a petition to Gov. Abiodun entitled, “Massive corruption at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic.’’
However, the suspended whistleblower has yet to get justice even after a call-out to the Secretary to the State Government in a letter dated July 1, 2020 which was channeled through the Acting Rector, Dr Adeoye Odedeji and the Registrar, Mr Emmanuel Adeleye.
The letter entitled, “Plea to save my soul and request for constitution of an independent panel of enquiry. Re: Suspension from office, strong warning and advice to be of good behavior,’’ was received and stamped by the Office of the Chief of Staff, Governor’s Office.
Sources at the Governor’s office told Persecondnews that the matter is being “kept in view.”
The letter states: “Sir, with humility and all modesty, I would like to inform you that two months suspension from office without pay given to me by the Polytechnic Management is unacceptable in all its ramifications.
“I consider the decision as biased, full of prejudice and a conspiracy against my person and a form of ethnic discrimination because I exposed the endemic corruption of …..
“In conclusion sir, I have to write you this SAVE MY SOUL letter in order for you to put up an independent Panel of Enquiry so that justice can be served. I believe it is only the Government that can help me against these `powerful people’. I look forward to your help sir.’’
Earlier, the whistleblower had in an internal memo to the Registrar dated June 15, 2020 protested the punishment meted out to him, describing it as “nothing but an injustice which is unacceptable.’’
He pointed out that the recommendations, observations and decisions of the Ad hoc Committee set up to investigate allegations of misconduct against him violated Sections 28 and 29 of the Polytechnic Law, Part VII.
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