Federal University Oye-Ekiti Suspends Lecturer After Accusing TETFund Workers Of N10Million PhD Scholarship Fraud

Federal University Oye-Ekiti Suspends Lecturer After Accusing TETFund Workers Of N10Million PhD Scholarship Fraud

Federal University Oye-Ekiti Suspends Lecturer After Accusing TETFund Workers Of N10Million PhD Scholarship Fraud

The lecturer said he was offered a PhD Programme in a Cyprus university for which he secured TETFund scholarship; however, he added that a large chunk of the funds was not released to him.

Kamal A. Odunjo-Saka, a lecturer at Federal University Oye-Ekiti, (FUOYE) in Ekiti State has accused the school management of suspending him after exposing three Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) staff members for allegedly embezzling the sum of ₦10 million meant for his foreign sponsorship.

Odunjo-Saka, a lecturer in the university’s Department of Psychology and a PhD foreign scholar, described his suspension by the university as “absurd, baseless, illogical, largely illegal, indefensible, parochial and purely unprofessional”.

The lecturer said he was offered a PhD Programme in a Cyprus university for which he secured TETFund scholarship; however, he added that a large chunk of the funds was not released to him.

According to him, he blew the whistle on three staff members of TETFund who had allegedly been playing hide-and-seek with him over the funds for about two years, after it seemed he might lose the opportunity.

He alleged that the development angered the university authorities and a cycle of witch-hunt of the lecturer cum student began, followed by his suspension.

FUOYE management sent him three queries on the same day and later suspended him from the university with immediate effect. Odunjo-Saka was subsequently investigated.

He said, “My PhD. Sponsorship Award Grant was approved on 11/11/2020. My study was scheduled to start in January 2021.

“But, due to two reasons, I could not leave Nigeria until October 2021. The first reason was TETFund’s delay in the payment of the initial tuition deposit, which is a prerequisite by my university in Cyprus for issuing the acceptance letter that would allow me to travel down to Cyprus.

“Though, after several correspondences and explanations, the initial tuition deposit of a total sum of €3,622.50 was paid, out of €8,872.50 approved for my tuition in the award letter, with a promise that the remaining tuition balance of €5,250 would be offset when I get to Cyprus.

“The second reason was COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a travel ban; it wasn’t until it was lifted before I could travel in October 2021.

“Unfortunately, during course registration of my second semester in May 2022, it was realised that the money left in my school account was not enough to register the number of required courses for that semester.

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“Then, on reaching back to TETFund for the payment of the outstanding tuition, it was a rude shock to hear from one Mr. Gbenga, who is a TETFund staff, that the money had been paid to my university account since March 2021. But, when I asked them for the payment invoice for the said amount so that I could use it to claim the payment from the university account office, in order to credit my account accordingly, there came excuses.

“It was another rude shock as that the said Mr. Gbenga quickly referred me to another staff member, one Mrs. Layo, who claimed to be in charge of such records. After several conversations without useful result, Mrs. Layo further referred me to another staff member, one Mr. Auwal, who they claimed was the boss in the account unit.

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With all these abracadabra and series of altercations between us, the Mr. Genga finally opened up in a very ridiculous way (because they could not provide the payment invoice for their fake claim) that they just discovered that the money they previously claimed to have paid eventually bounced back from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and they would need to reprocess the payment.”

“This ridiculous excuse came up in October, which was after six months of contacting them for the payment,” Odunjo-Saka explained.

uch actions, Mr. Odunjo persisted in publicising his unfounded claims. This resulted in the issuance of queries by the University, which he responded to in a manner deemed disrespectful and lacking decorum. His replies appeared to challenge the authority of the University rather than addressing the issues raised in a professional and constructive manner.

“In light of these actions, the University, in accordance with its regulations, suspended Mr. Odunjo for his misconduct and failure to adhere to the institution’s rules. It is crucial to note that the suspension is unrelated to his allegations against TETFund, which have been thoroughly investigated and found to lack merit.

“Regarding the claims of fraud, the University has engaged TETFund on the matter, and findings indicate no evidence to support such allegations. No official of TETFund has the authority or mechanism to divert funds intended for beneficiaries.”

“The assertion that Mr. Odunjo’s suspension was a consequence of exposing alleged fraud is both inaccurate and misleading,” Balogun said.

“We urge him to act honourably by refraining from making unsubstantiated claims and by adhering to the rules and regulations of the University. Constructive engagement and mutual respect are fundamental to maintaining the reputation and integrity of the institution.”