Stakeholders in the education sector have insisted that the Federal Government should clear the air on why it reinstated, “without proper investigation”, a former Tertiary Education Trust Fund boss, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, who was sacked in 2015 on the basis of misappropriation of funds.
They opined that it was improper to reinstate an official with allegation of impropriety without clearing him formally after being summoned.
The stakeholders also noted that the procedure of his reinstatement was wrong, stressing that it showed that the Federal Government was not accountable to the people.
They accused the government of arbitrarily changing officials without making recourse to ethical practices.
There is a need for government to clear him formally for the sake of transparency and accountability. If this is not done, he should not be reinstated. If he was accused of fraud before he was sacked and now, he is being brought back without any explanation, then they should be questioned
Recall that the Federal Government recently reinstated Bogoro as the Executive Secretary of TETFUND, following the sack of the former head of the Fund.
No official statement was made on why Bichi was sacked or why Bogoro was reinstated after being accused of fraud.
Bogoro was removed by President Muhammadu Buhari on the allegation of N200 billion funds misappropriation and Abdullahi Baffa was appointed in his place.
Bogoro, who was appointed the Executive Secretary of TETFUND by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, was accused of diverting funds into the failed re-election bid of the former president in 2015.
The Senate had summoned Bogoro over the allegation, following a motion sponsored by Abdullahi Sabi, the senator representing Niger North Senatorial District.
The News Agency of Nigeria, in 2015, reported that TETFUND, under Bogoro’s administration, also approved and organised a workshop and pre-retreat in the United States and Kenya in 2014 and 2015 without recourse to the guidelines of the TETFUND Act.
“A whopping sum of about N500million was budgeted for advertising and media in TETFUND’s 2015 budget,” Sabi alleged.
The lawmaker stressed, “The state of infrastructure in tertiary institutions was shabby, dilapidated and mostly run down” after government spent nearly N1trillion on the institutions between 2011 and 2015.
Following the resolution to probe TETFUND, Senate President Bukola Saraki directed the Committee on Tertiary Institutions to report its findings back to the Senate within one
month.
The probe was to cover the diversion of the tax allegedly collected and used between 2012 and 2013 for projects not recognised in or permitted under the TETFUND establishment Act, 2011.
The committee was also to look into the alleged misappropriation of funds between 2011 and 2015. But nothing more was heard about the investigation until Bogoro was reinstated recently.
His reinstatement generated controversies as critics observed that Nigerians were not informed if the embattled official had been absolved of the allegations levelled against him or not.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Adamu Adamu, was silent on the allegation in a statement, which announced Bogoro’s reinstatement.
Meanwhile, Bichi had described, as frivolous, claims that he collected bribes from tertiary institutions.
Funds allegedly transmitted to ASUU
As controversies trail the development, a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Sunny Echono, said the funds in question were given to ASUU. He, however, did not state if Bogoro’s case was investigated or not.
“The funds were used for something else, including the first tranche of revitalisation that ASUU keeps talking about. N200 billion was given to ASUU out of the N1.3 trillion for revitalisation of public universities. Other monies were also given for different usage,” he explained.
However, ASUU has insisted that it did not receive the funds from TETFUND as alleged.
The ASUU National Chairman, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, disclosed that they neither received a dime from TETFUND nor were they aware of the money in question.
He said, “The 2013 MoU stipulated that public universities needed N1.3 trillion for a modest revitalisation. The fund was to be released in tranches of N200 billion in 2013; N220billion, 2014; N220billion, 2015; N220 billion, 2016; N220 billion, 2017; and N220 billion in 2018.
“I do not know about the circumstance of Bogoro’s removal. We heard that they paid some money then for Needs Assessment. We only heard; we did not see the evidence and I do not know the amount. Everything was rumoured; we never received any money from TETFUND. If any money was released from that agency it must have been given to the universities and not ASUU.”
Stakeholders demand probe
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and lecturer of Law at the University of Lagos, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, said since Bogoro was accused, he should have been investigated before being reinstated.
Osipitan said, “If he was investigated and found innocent, it would be a proper case. But, as far as I am concerned, if the case was not investigated, then it is very improper because he was accused.”
Likewise, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, said for the sake of transparency and accountability, the reinstated TETFUND boss should be formally cleared before being reinstated.
“There is a need for government to clear him formally for the sake of transparency and accountability. If this is not done, he should not be reinstated. If he was accused of fraud before he was sacked and now, he is being brought back without any explanation, then they should be questioned,” he said.
Noting that controversies would continue to arise until he was cleared, Ekpo said, “A proper report, clearing him of the accusation should be done. If he is not investigated, we do not know if we should say the Federal Government accused him wrongly or they brought back someone whose hands are not
clean.”
A lecturer of Educational Foundation, University of Jos, Dr Ogundele Michael, accused the government of being confused, saying that changing officials during election period was
improper.
He said, “The present government is confused. The government wants to create confusion. Why is it when election is approaching that they sack and reinstate? What if the incumbent government did not win? What will happen between the new government and the people reinstated
or sacked?
“My opinion is that the present government should leave everyone as they are and let the country focus on the coming election. Let the Minister of Education also come on board on the negotiation table.”