The campus auditor, Kingsley Aliagwu, allegedly worked in connivance with the embattled Dean to cover up the misappropriation.
The Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Delta State University, Oleh campus, Isoko South Local Government Area, Emmanuel Ubeku, is said to be currently enmeshed in a financial scandal.
The dean allegedly misappropriated the sum of N1,357,465.00, collected from students as dues for the 2019/2020 academic session.
The campus auditor, Kingsley Aliagwu, allegedly worked in connivance with the embattled Dean to cover up the misappropriation.
SaharaReporters gathered that the dean of engineering, the institution's auditor, and a few other staff members are all part of a cartel that specialises in the alleged manipulation of financial records and embezzlement of funds.
A senior management staff member at the institution's administrative headquarters in Abraka, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confided in our correspondent that the financial recklessness of the dean of engineering, had been tabled several times at the office of the vice-chancellor in Abraka and that directives were given to him to retire dues collected so far.
The source said, "The dean of engineering, Oleh campus, and the auditor are working hand in hand, using several ways to defraud the institution. These two men are always working in connivance to commit all sorts of financial fraud. The auditor assists the dean and others to mutilate financial records to cover up their illicit dealings. When the dean commits the malfeasance the auditor knows how to cover up for him and later they share their proceeds.
"Currently, there is a cold war going on now between some management staff of the Oleh campus and the dean of engineering over the non-retirement of students' dues collected by the dean and his refusal to give proper detailed accounts of how such funds were expended. Prof. Ubeku has been collecting dues from students running into millions of naira yearly without giving proper accounts of such funds."
Also speaking, a staff member in the accounts section of the campus privy to the issues told SaharaReporters that "the dean of engineering, Oleh campus does not want to be questioned at all about how dues collected from students are spent because he feels such funds are meant for his private use and he runs the faculty as his private estate".
"There is serious trouble now because the dean of engineering was asked to give a proper account of the N1,357,465.00 collected from students as dues in the 2019/2020 academic session. The dean has been sponsoring all manner of social media write-ups as well as instigating some gullible staff members against the institution's provost, Professor Ifo-Alex Amata, his boss," the source said.
"I have spent so many years in this institution and I know how things are run. Before the coming of the Provost, Professor Ifo-Alex Amata, the dean, and some corrupt staff members ran the campus as if it was their family farm –no financial accountability, embezzlement, corruption, and fraudulent acts were the order of the day even till this moment. But the Ubeku and Aliagwu cabals who have benefitted so much from the corrupt and fraudulent acts are ever ready to battle anyone standing in their way.
"You will agree with me that in 2019/2020, there were no real academic activities in Delta State University as a whole, following the shutdown of the institution as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown. Before then, the dean of engineering had collected N1,357,465.00 from students as dues and the question now is, what were those funds used for since the institution was closed during the period under review?"
Our correspondent gathered that following threats of sanctions, the dean has started complying to explain how the dues collected from students were expended.
When contacted on the issues, the provost, Delta State University, Oleh campus, Ifo-Alex Amata, declined comment, saying he did not know what our correspondent was saying. "Please I don't know what you are talking about. I am much concerned with issues of taking the Oleh campus to greater heights, As a provost here, I want to leave a legacy during my tenure. Thank you," he said.
Directing Ubeku to retire the students' dues collected, through a letter signed by Mrs. P. E. Omatsola, for the Deputy Registrar/Head of Registry, Delta State University, Oleh campus, and sighted by our correspondent, the school authority warned the dean that funds collected by his faculty were expected to be judiciously managed, taking into cognisance the number of students in his faculty.
"Please recall that Senate approved the collection of dues from students by the faculties with the view that the collected dues would be used in the running of the faculties.
"Also, Senate decided that if during the course of an academic session, the collected dues are exhausted by the faculty, such a faculty could access the central administration for financial assistance on the condition that the faculty has accounted for the dues collected via retirement.
"I am also directed to inform you that it is uncalled for to make comparison with larger faculties in the university as the funds collected by your faculty was expected to be judiciously managed taking into cognisance the number of students in your faculty," the letter stated.
The Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Delta State University, Oleh campus, E.U Ubeku, did not answer his calls when SaharaReporters called his mobile line but in a memo signed by the dean, and sighted by our correspondent, he, however, stated that the sum of N1,357,465.00 being "dues collected from students are assumed as security votes" and challenged the school authority to show faculties in Abraka retiring dues collected from students.
"This new concept of retiring student dues to the campus is at variance with proper and sound administrative procedures because dues are not actually retired, they are assumed to be security votes. No faculty in Abraka retires dues and I will be grateful if the finance officer will show us extract in which dues are retired.
"Total amount collected N1,357,465.00, total expenditure N1,352,400.00. Balance N5,065.00. We are doing this because the faculty of law has already fallen into the trap of retiring their dues. Dues collected are like money paid for handbook and workshop manual which are not retired," Ubeku stated.