A former Minister of Works and current Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, was at the Ibadan office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) yesterday following a petition written to the anti-graft agency 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 reportedly mismanaging N250million. In a Facebook post yesterday, the EFCC said, “Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, the Pro-Chancellor, FUNAAB, is being quizzed at the Iyaganku office of the EFCC, Ibadan today, August 31, 2016 in respect of an alleged case of abuse of office and misappropriation of funds reported against the university Pro-Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olusola Oyewole, management and some members of the governing council. According to a petition submitted to the EFCC by the Concerned Stakeholders of the Federal University of Agriculture, it was alleged that the pro-chancellor and the vice-chancellor engaged in an ‘unbridled corruption and betrayal of public trust.”
Meanwhile the former minister has said the petition was initiated by the bursar who was aggrieved because the governing council refused to extend his tenure.According to Ogunlewe, “All our allowances are prescribed under the rules and regulations. The governing council sits only four times a year and our allowances cannot be altered. So, the allegations are false. In government you must sign whenever you receive money. So, how could we have signed off on that amount of money? The council is not involved in the day-to-day running of the school. We don’t approve money or contracts. What we do is policy-making. So, we have no access to such funds. The registrar is the secretary to the council and he has all the relevant documents.” When asked to explain what he told the EFCC detectives, Ogunlewe said, “I told them four things. First, the bursar asked for extension by one year and the council refused his application and that is why he is against the council. So, his petition is in bad faith. Secondly, the bursar was involved in N27million 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.”
