The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, Federal Polytechnic Ukana chapter in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has petitioned the Governing Council of the polytechnic to suspend the rector, Prof. Balama Obomanu and the bursar, Mr.Sunday Okpo, over alleged mismanagement of funds and other irregularities.
The petition signed by the chapter’s protem chairman, Inyangetoh Jude; protem secretary, Ariye Anthony, and made available to journalists in Uyo on Tuesday, accused both men of making illegal deductions from staff salaries and refusal to pay full salary for more than two years.
Speaking, Jude accused the rector of refusal to pay yearly step increment in salary for more than two years; deliberate refusal to release monthly pay slips to workers for over two years; abuse of procurement processes in executing capital projects; failure to provide electricity on campus daily, as well as embezzlement of internally generated revenue and overhead releases.
In the petition, they also alleged that the rector appointed unqualified person as director of works/physical planning; introduced ghost workers in the nominal roll of the polytechnic contract staff; and is unable to secure a single course accreditation after three years of running the polytechnic, and non-payment of 28 days allowance benefit of workers recruited in July 2015.
Other allegations contained in the petition include: “Award of TETFUND projects to cronies without due process; deliberate attempt to stop the formation and existence of ASUP in the polytechnic; deliberate attempt to browbeat and victimise leaders and members of ASUP in the polytechnic and undermine the process of free elections in ASUP.
“Misappropriation of approved personnel cost for purposes other than the full payment of staff salaries; fraudulent deduction of average sum of N743,328 per month from staff salaries (from January 2017 to May 2017) in the name of NHIS, whereas the polytechnic and its staff had yet to formally register for the programme.
“Placement of Mr. Vincent A. Chukwuma (a fresher with no cognate experience) on salary grade level 14/2 and subsequent promotion and appointment of same person as acting director of physical planning/works, in sheer breach of extant Public Service Rules and the Polytechnic Act; deliberate refusal to implement the recommended and approved polytechnic salary structure for all staff.
“Fraudulent parade of the different sets of nominal rolls, one that meets the expectations of government and NBTE and the other for defrauding members of staff; whereas available record shows that the polytechnic receives more than N2m as monthly overhead cost, the rector and the bursar claim they are only given a paltry N600,000 per month.”
Reaction to the allegations, Obomanu told DAILY POST that “as a rector of the institution, I do not have power to do things on my own without approval from different stakeholders of the polytechnic.
“All those things are not true; the school cannot be run like a private property, because I do not initiate or finalise things. There are processes that are involved that had been established by Federal Government on how schools are run. We have management; we hold management meetings; we have academic board; we have council and hold council meetings. As I speak with you now, we are holding the sixth council meeting. So, there is no way I would have sat and taken decisions on my own; I am not above the council to take decisions alone. Decisions are conveyed to council for ratification.
“When they say we do not have a single accreditation, it is wrong. We have two programmes running and they are due for full accreditation this year. The year has not gone yet. It is after 2018, you begin to raise fears whether the programme will be accredited or not. We are going to have accreditation exercise on May 24.”
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