Gabriel Dike
The management of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) on Saturday saved thousands of candidates seeking admission into the institution from admission fraudsters.
The unsuspected thousands of candidates, who applied for the 2019/2020 admission exercise would have parted with N2,000 demanded by the admission fraudsters if not for the last minute intervention of YABATECH Rector, Mr. Obafemi Omokungbe.
Many of the candidates, who applied for admission into YABATECH received text messages on Friday and were asked to come for UTME seminar with a fee of #2,000 each.
One of the text message reads: “The seminar/workshop for the post UTME exam will hold tomorrow (Saturday) 31st August at 10.00am at YABATECH Secondary School. Come with JAMB, WAEC results and post UTME slip. Fee #2,000.”
Our correspondent gathered that the timely intervention of the rector saved many of the candidates. Some of the candidates went to the venue before receiving another counter message asking them to disregard the first message.
Omokungbe told our correspondent that the text message was the handwork of fraudsters and urged candidates to disregard them.
In a reaction to our correspindent’s text message, the rector said: “The sales of post UTME screening form close this weekend. There is nothing like seminar.
It’s a scam.”
The college also carried a disclaimer warning post UTME candidates 2019/2020 applicants not to pay N2,000 and attend the seminar.
It reads: “All post UTME applications of YABATECH are hereby strongly advised to ignore a notice purportedly sent by some faceless and disgruntled elements, requesting them to pay #2,000 for post UTME CBT seminar. The message did not emanate from YABATECH. Please ignore.”
A senior management staff of YABATECH told our correspondent that some business centres dislodged from operating within the college were behind the admission scam.
His words: For a long time, they engaged in fraudulent business including admission fraud. But the present management sent them packing from the college.”
It was learnt that the management of YABATECH on receipt of the planned seminar by the fraudsters sent security personnel to monitor the venue.
A parent asked the college management to investigate how the fraudsters got the phone numbers of the prospective candidates and sent them the text message for the seminar.