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Ondo-Owned University Students’ Union Leaders In Alleged Multi-million Naira Fraud

October 18, 2021

The students’ leaders in a petition sighted by SaharaReporters accused Obagunwa and former Senate President, Amodu Abiola of joining hands to defraud the union.

Six former executives of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) Students’ Union have accused the immediate past President, Obagunwa Oluwasegun of misappropriating over two million naira (N2,000,000) funds disbursed by the management.

 

The students’ leaders in a petition sighted by SaharaReporters accused Obagunwa and former Senate President, Amodu Abiola of joining hands to defraud the union.

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The petition was signed by Comrade Akkinlalu Funmilola, ex-Vice President; Comrade Taiwo Oluwagbogo, ex-General Secretary; Comrade Adegbeyeni Oluwafemi, ex-Public Relations Officer; Comrade Oseni Ridwan, ex-Welfare Director; Comrade Emoruwa Ade, ex-Social Director and Comrade Adelowo Adebayo, ex-Sports Director.

 

According to the petition submitted to the office of the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Professor Olusegun Akanbi, the executives accused Abiola of using his office to approve unnecessary budgets for personal gain.

 

The accusation comes a few months after SaharaReporters exposed how Obagunwa and Amodu hoarded the relief palliatives meant for the victims of accidents that happened in early 2021.

 

In the petition, Obagunwa allegedly illegally withdrew one hundred thousand (N100,000) from the union’s account and tagged it “approved budget for condolences visit to the bereaved” whereas it was the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olugbenga Ige that sponsored the visits. 

It was said that the union did not sponsor any condolence visit and neither were funds released for the visit to the bereaved family of January 23, 2020, Dangote truck accident that occurred at the university gate and claimed the lives of students. 

 

They stated that Senate President Amodu has "been turned into a puppet by the President” and is being used as an instrument to misappropriate union funds while neglecting his duties of checking the excesses of the union executives.

 

The former executives said, “We were bullied, witch-hunted and threatened several times because we remained uncompromising to the interests and expectations of every AAUA student who entrusted us with power to represent them as union leaders.

 

“President Obagunwa received a sum of seventy-six thousand naira (N76,000) for the construction of a billboard, but he never carried out the project. The office of the Financial Secretary, Oni Samuel, got eighty thousand naira (N80,000) while Senate President Amodu got one hundred and eighty-two thousand naira (N182,000) for unknown reasons.

 

“Other unnecessary funds disbursed include: forty-five thousand naira (N45,000) approved for washing the SRC gowns; over two hundred thousand naira (N200,000) for SRC dinner; the treasurer, Alabi Emmanuel got one hundred and fourteen thousand naira (N114,000) for his own office. Other executives who refused to bow to the pressure of the President were not allowed to carry out their official duties by declining their budgets.”

 

The petition stated that the immediate union President “personally wrote and got approval for the budget of offices designated to him and misappropriated the funds… sidelined other executive members who were not ready to compromise in embezzling the union funds.”

 

Amodu approved budgets on WhatsApp which is against the constitution of the union and without properly notifying other SRC senators which he heads.

 

Obagunwa allegedly sold the television set and other appliances in the office of the union president without being replaced.

 

Amodu signed and approved a budget of seventy thousand naira (N70,000) for the repair of the union bus but the money was embezzled and the bus was never repaired, it was learnt. 

 

SaharaReporters obtained a copy of the one hundred and eighty-eight thousand naira (N188,000) budget written by the former union president for the National Association of Nigerian Students in South-West (NANS Zone D) debate. The letter was addressed to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ige through the then Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr. Owolewa Olusegun, seeking financial support for the two representatives to represent AAUA at the NANS Debate that took place in March 2021 in Lagos.

 

The VC disbursed money for the debate. It was learnt that Obagunwa presented another budget of N188,000 for the NANS Debate to the SRC and it was approved by Senate President Amodu. The office of the Vice President who is constitutionally in charge of academic affairs and in the best position to present such a budget was not carried along.

 

“Obagunwa received two budgets for the same competition under the guise of NANS Debate, but refused to sponsor the two AAUA representatives as written in the budget. Information revealed that the organisers of the Debate provided accommodation and other logistics for all participants except interstate travel. The funds were mismanaged and not used for the purpose for which they were withdrawn by the Union President,” the petition read.

 

Obagunwa was also accused of not presenting the statement of account despite calls by the SRC Senators and students for him to do so.

 

The former executives stated in their petition that the management should launch an investigation into the alleged fraudulent activities of both Amodu and Obagunwa.

 

“We leave our case with the management, who may choose to carry out a thorough investigation into the fraudulent practices that were carried out in a university rated best state university in Nigeria,” they added.

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