The League of Civil Society Groups has called on the security agencies to urgently investigate the Vice Chancellor of University of Calabar, Prof. Zana Akpagu for financial mismanagement.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the National Coordinator of the League of Civil Society Groups, Barr Kamaldeen Adefila said that the financial integrity of University of Calabar under the leadership of Prof. Zana Akpagu has been compromised by usurping the professional and legal powers of the Bursar and insisting on retaining a consultant for collection of the University’s finances who blatantly refused to furnish the Bursar’s office with details of its collections and remittances.
The group commended the present administration under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari for taking on the cankerworm of corruption, which is to ensure availability of adequate resources for the welfare of the people over a very long-term.
“We condemn in very strong terms the actions of the University management in terminating the appointment of the Bursar, whose only crime is his insistence on due process in stewardship of a Federal institution, funded with tax payers’ hard earned money,” Barr Adefila said.
He further said that the Vice Chancellor, in pushing this agenda, is in clear violation of a subsisting order of the National Industrial Court in Uyo, that restrained the University of Calabar from interviewing or employing any person or persons as Bursar pending the determination of motion on notice filed and served on University of Calabar.
“On the basis of the and in the spirit of the rule of law, we urge the VC, Prof. Zana Akpagu to immediately retrace his steps and do the needful in allowing the Bursar to function in his rightful position which in the eyes of the laws of Nigeria he still occupies. It is on record that despite several investigations by the EFCC, Police and other security agencies, the Bursar, Peter Agi has been found innocent of all allegations against him. To have constituted an investigative Committee despite a court process being ongoing smacks of ulterior motives on his part,” Barr. Adefila said.
The group called on Prof. Zana Akpagu to tell Nigerians how TETFUND monies were spent; why he employed unilaterally and without consideration of the state of the University’s finances; why a valid court order, duly served on him by a bailiff, was rejected on 24th January, 2017 and why a collection agent working on behalf of the University would refuse obstinately to present detailed records of his collections to the Chief Finance Officer of the University.
The group further called on TETFUND to ensure that her allocations to University of Calabar were used for earmarked projects while they called on the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu to take immediate action to call the management of the school to order.