A retired Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Boniface Oye-Adeniran, has appealed to the Presidency to probe the Lagos Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a letter sent by email to President Muhammadu Buhari, routed through his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Professor Oye-Adeniran lamented that the EFCC, Lagos Office was yet to make any forward movement eleven months after he petitioned the anti-corruption agency, alleging N5 billion fraud by the Vice Chancellor of UNILAG, Professor Toyin Ogundipe, and some of the other Principal Officers.
In the email, sent on July 26, 2021, the content of which was made available to The Lagos Times, Prof. Boniface Oye-Adeniran, a former member of the Governing Council of UNILAG, stated: “I submitted allegations of corruption against Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos and some of the Principal Officers to the EFCC, Lagos Zone.
“It is inconceivably derelict on the part of our Anti-Corruption Agencies to wait for foreign Governments to identify for us as a nation our corrupt Public Servants.” – Prof. Boniface OYE-ADENIRAN, mni.
“My allegations were received by EFCC on 25 August 2020 (Eleven months ago). I have submitted all necessary documents with the letter.
“Your Excellency, this is the eleventh month and EFCC has not shown any willingness to move forward with the case. I have sent addresses of witnesses as requested by one of the EFCC officials.
“The EFCC has not called those witnesses that can help them with their investigations since their addresses were confirmed received by EFCC on 22 June 2021 which is more than one month ago.”
He then gave the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the witnesses, and cited the widely reported remark by the new Chairman of EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, asking “corrupt” officials of the anti-graft agency to resign, adding that the comment was reassuring to Nigerians.
Prof. Oye-Adeniran, a former National President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), 1993 – 1997, further stated: “In view of the foregoing, I wish to suggest to your Excellency – with all sense of responsibility – that the Department of State Services (DSS) should be directed to investigate the officials of EFCC, Lagos Zone whether they have violated their OATH of OFFICE or whether they have been compromised in anyway.
“PRAYER: Your Excellency, I wish to humbly request that the Chairman of EFCC, Abdulrashid Bawa, should take over the control and further investigation by constituting a new Procurement Fraud Section (PFS) Team to bring the investigation to a speedy conclusion.”
A month earlier, on June 18, Professor Oye-Aderniran had sent a similar email to the Presidency. The letter was entitled “Tenth month of no forward movement: UNILAG VC: Allegations of CORRUPTION submitted to EFCC, LAGOS on 25th August 2020 (10 months ago) against UNILAG VC and other Principal Officers.
Earlier on April 6, he sent a letter by email, with the subject being “UNILAG VC: Allegations of CORRUPTION submitted to EFCC, LAGOS on 25th August 2020 (over 7 months ago) against UNILAG VC and other Principal Officers.”
In the said April 6 letter, Oye-Adeniran stated: “This is to bring to your good self attention the slow pace at which EFCC is investigating the CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS against the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos and some of the Principal Officers. My allegations were received on 25 August 2020. I have submitted all necessary documents with the letter.
“I believe in the dictum that: ‘Justice delayed, is justice denied.’
“I am a dyed-in-the-wool believer in your Anti-Corruption Policy.
“If I may borrow a few words from Tai Solarin’s write up as a columnist in The Daily Times in the mid-1960s while I was in Secondary School.
“As long as I have my head to plan and my hand to dare in a united Nigeria, CORRUPTION at any quarters, shall find in me an incessant opponent.”
“Most words in that quote are mine.
“I agree with your good self quote: ‘If we don’t kill CORRUPTION, Corruption will kill us.’ – Muhammadu Buhari, 2015.”
Further earlier in January, Professor Oye-Adeniran had called on the Presidency to get the anti-corruption agency to act on his N5 billion fraud allegation petition against the Vice Chancellor.
The call was sequel to the reported arrest of the Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Gusau, Professor Magaji Garba, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged N260m contract scam.
Prof. Garba was detained by the anti-graft agency on Thursday January 28 after he honoured an invitation in relation to his involvement in a case of abuse of office, corrupt practices and contract scam.
A competent source at the anti- graft agency disclosed that Prof. Garba had fraudulently obtained the sum of Two Hundred and Sixty Million Naira (N260, 000,000) from a contractor, Alhaji Shehu Sambo, owner of Ministaco Nigeria Limited, on the pretext that the University was going to award his company a contract worth N3, 000,000,000 (Three Billion Naira) for the construction of perimeter Wall Fence around the institution which never materialised in 2018.
Making his appeal in an E-mail to the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari on Monday, Oye-Adeniran who was a member of University of Lagos Governing Council from 2017 to 2019, said the arrest of Magaji was encouraging.
He, however, stated that “The EFCC, Lagos Zone, should also be directed to act decisively” on alleged corruption cases against Ogundipe.
According to Oye-Adeniran, also a former President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the alleged contract scam in this case was over N5 billion.
Last year, Oye-Adeniran had, in a petition to the EFCC, accused Ogundipe and his management team of awarding contracts amounting to N5 billion without the approval of the governing council of the institution, awarding contracts beyond his N2.5 million approval limit and breaching the Public Procurement Act (PPA) between 2017 and 2020.
The petition also sought the investigation of a former Acting Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Folashade Ogunshola; Bursar of the University of Lagos, Mr. Lekan Lawal and Director of Procurement of the institution, Dr. James Akamu.
In the petition, addressed to the Chairman (Acting Chairman) of the anti-graft agency and entitled “Acts of Financial Crime by Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe (former Vice Chancellor University of Lagos), Professor Folashade Ogunshola (former Acting Vice Chancellor University of Lagos), Mr. Lekan Lawal (Bursar of the University of Lagos)”, he accused the officials of awarding contracts without due process.
He listed some of the contracts to include N112, 462,990.63 awarded for the renovation of the official living quarters of three principal staff officers.
He alleged that Ogundipe approved the sum of N49,434,038.45 to renovate the Vice Chancellor’s lodge, the sum of N41,817,658.32 was paid out for renovation works of the Bursar’s official residence while the sum of N16, 123, 509.00 was spent on renovating the official residence of the immediate past registrar of the university.
The petition further accused Ogundipe of awarding the sum of N3, 733,494.85 for the renovation of the official residence of the chancellor, while the sum of N1,354,290.00 was spent renovating the pro chancellor’s official residence.
“It is important to note that Professor Ogundipe’s approval limit as Vice Chancellor is N2, 500,000.00. None of this spending was brought to the knowledge of, or received the approval of the governing council as provided in the University Act and extant guidelines on Financial Regulations.
He said the university council at its meeting of 5th September 2018 constituted a committee to investigate the university’s expenditure under Ogundipe as vice chancellor.
Among others, the committee, he said, allegedly found out that Ogundipe’s management, without tender board, Finance and General Purpose Committee and Governing Council knowledge or approval, approved contracts that were far in excess of his approval limit of N2,500,000.00.
In other cases, he alleged that awards made by Ogundipe or under his leadership did not satisfy requirements of the Public Procurement Act.
The petition stated that Ogundipe’s management allegedly spent a total sum of N57,272,050.44 on waste management and janitorial services in breach of procurement laws and practices.
“These payments were not evidenced by any contract, did not receive council approval, did not go through the university tenders board at all and did not comply with the Public Procurement Act”, it said.
The petition also accused the Professor Toyin Ogundipe-led management of spending the sum of N52,080,000.00 on the purchase of two vehicles well above his personal limit of N2,500,000.00 and the university tender board’s threshold limit of N50,000,000.00.
“This was achieved by a contract splitting device that is illegal and contrary to the Public Procurement Act of 2007,” he alleged.
The petitioner further accused Ogundipe’s management team of spending a total sum of N57,921,581.00 on the foreign trips embarked upon by himself and some of his team.
“The committee found that Professor Ogundipe was able to approve these payments based on an illegal contract splitting device.
“The Committee also found that local running allowances were paid for these foreign trips in breach of the Financial Regulations of 2009 and clarifications by National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission in 2015”, it said.
Abdulrasheed Bawa had said officials of the commission caught involved in corrupt practices would be prosecuted. Bawa stated this while responding to questions on TVC television channel.
He also urged Nigerians to help identify corrupt officials of the anti-graft agency.
“Certainly, we are not angels. There are some bad elements within the system. But we charge them to court whenever they are caught.
“We need Nigerians to help us call out any corrupt EFCC official they come across,” Bawa said.
This is coming at a time the Presidency is investigating suspended acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu over alleged corrupt practices.
