FUNAAB: EFCC quizzes Ogunlewe

From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Pro-Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State and former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, was yesterday grilled for several hours by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over his alleged involvement in the alleged corruption scandal rocking the school.
He was quizzed at the Ibadan zonal office few days after the Vice Chancellor, Prof Olusola Oyewole, and the Bursar, Moses Ilesanmi, were grilled by the commission on allegations of abuse of office and misappropriation of funds, reported against the management of the institution.
Ogunlewe, who arrived in the EFCC office at 9am, was still being grilled at Press time.
Oyewole and Ilesanmi have been answering questions in connection with a petition submitted to the EFCC by the ‘Concerned Stakeholders’ in FUNAAB, who had alleged an ‘unbridled corruption and betrayal of public trust’ against Ogunlewe, the vice chancellor and the bursar.
“According to the petition, it was alleged that the pro-chancellor and the vice chancellor engaged in an “unbridled corruption and betrayal of public trust.
As gathered,  the EFCC is investigating payments made by the university to the Governing Council led by Ogunlewe since his  appointment in 2013. He was appointed pro-chancellor of the university by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Meanwhile, the national body of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has blamed the vice-chancellor for suspending three staff who reportedly signed the petition to the EFCC.
The three staff said to have been suspended are the Principal Assistant Registrar, Mr. Abdussobur Salaam, who is the current National Public Relations Officer of SSANU; the Director, Environmental Management, Mr. Emmanuel Bankole, who was a national deputy president of SSANU; and the Director, Agricultural Media Research Extension Centre of the university, Mr. Lasun Somoye, who is a member of the union.