N300million Fraud: Group Drags Bisi Akande’s Brother, 9 Others Before EFCC
A Civil Society Organization (CSO) in Osun State under the auspices of Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) has dragged the younger brother to the former Interim National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, Mr. Oyeniyi Akande who is currently the Part-time Chairman of the Governing Council of Osun State College of Education ,Ila-Orangun since 2013 and other nine(9) members of the top management of the College over illegal diversion of the approved N300million College funds for one projects or the other in the College Community.
It was learnt that the members of the top management of the College that were named in the corrupt allegation included the College former Acting Provost, Dr. Basiru Gbadamosi, the Registrar and Secretary to the Governing Council, Mr. Aderinola Adeoti, former College Bursar, now Bursar College of Education, Ilesa, Mr. Akin Latilo, and Mr. David Olayinka Olojede, a member of the Governing Council.
Others involved in the alleged scam and diversion of Project funds were; Mr. Oyegbade Reuben Abayo, Mr. Amobi Yinusa Akinlola, Mr. Ayoola Peter Olajiola, Mr. Moses Oyewole Otitoola, and Mr. Kujeunbola Oluwafemi.
This was contained in a Petition Letter dated Monday 21st of March, 2016 with the titled “Request for investigation and prosecution of Mr. Oyeniyi Akande, the Part-Time Chairman, Governing Council, Osun State College of Education(OSSCE), Ila-Orangun, Osun state and nine (9) others for the offence of fraudulent conversion and diversion of N.3billion public funds approved for the Tetfund project i.e. the construction of Amphil-theatre and other sundry projects for the growth and development of the college community since 2014. Why Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) is demanding for investigation, arrest and possible prosecution of the culprits”, which was signed by the CSCEOS’ Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman and the copy was made available to newsmen on Tuesday, called for the thorough and credible investigation of the allegation by the anti-graft body without minding whose ox was gored.
The Petition Letter which was received by the Abuja National Head office of the anti-graft Commission(EFCC) on Tuesday 22nd of March, 2016 and also forwarded to the Visitor of the College and Osun State governor, Mr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Mr. Najeem Salaam, Federal Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu, Osun State Director, State Security Service (SSS) ,past leaders in Osun State including Governor, Deputy-Governors, Secretary to the State Government(SSG) and Head of Service(HoS) and the College Provost, among others, for their notification and necessary action.
Comrade Sulaiman maintained that the massive corruption according to the available verified documents showed that the scam spread to fees for Certificates collection, College Transport account and College History among others, alleging that the authority of the College had purportedly spent closed to three hundred million naira (N300m) on the aforementioned projects since 2014 and the projects did not see the light of the day till this present moment, while all the funds released for the Projects have been diverted by Akande and his crime –in- aides, requesting that the anti-graft Commission should probe all the Banks’ Account used to siphon the College funds in question by the aforementioned people.
The group alleged that sum of One hundred and seven Million naira (N107m) out of One hundred and twenty-five million (N125m) were released by the Federal Government through Tetfund as a Special Intervention fund to the College for building of a Lecture Theatre (Amphittheatre) which remained unaccounted for as the foundation of the project has not been completed after two (2) years the project was awarded to the Contractor, Digitpro Engineering Technology Limited, Ibadan, adding that in January 2015, the sum of Five million One hundred and Thirty six Thousand, seven hundred and sixteen naira, Thirty Kobo were released to the contractor-Digitpro Engineering Technology Limited, Ibadan as part of fund approved for the construction of Amphitheatre
According to the Petition Letter: “To our dismay, at the one meeting of the College Governing Council where the failed Tetfund Amphitheatre Lecture contract was extensively discussed, the Council noted that though the sum of One Hundred and Seven Million naira (N107m) had been released to the contractor-Digitpro Engineering Technology Limited, Ibadan, the evaluators which the Governing Council brought from the Osun State Ministry of Works and Transport, Abeere, Osogbo valued the work done at the site of the project at Thirteen Million naira (N13m).
Surprisingly at the said meeting, Mr. Akande promised to handle the issue with “maturity”. His position to “maturity” rather than sanction and possible arrest is at variance with Mr. Akande’s make-belief anti-corruption posture. This position of Mr. Akande further confirmed our believe that Akande’s hand has been soiled with the project funds.
“Meanwhile, one of the members of the Governing Council, Mr. Yinka Olojede had earlier confessed that they shared the funds meant for the project in question (Amphitheatre) with maturity as being directed by Mr. Akande and Mr. Niyi Akande as well connive with one of his cronies who floated a Consultancy firm named JAC DIRAN LIMITED, through which he fraudulently collected about Twelve million Naira (N12m) from the amphitheatre project apart from N107million earlier approved to the Contractor which One Hundred and Two million (N102m) released to the contractor.
“Furthermore, Mr. Oyeniyi Akande engages at will various Consultants, who are mostly his associates and cronies, to handle and or oversee the College’s projects and activities, even, where there were staffs of the college so designated to do the job. He unilaterally decides whooping amounts of funds to be paid these Consultants and many of them do not deliver the contracts to the specification. One of such was the College’s website (Internet facility) and several millions of naira was committed to the project and the Consultant/Contractor failed to deliver the job since three (3) years ago. Akande’s numerous consultants are the drain-pipes through which the College’s Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs) are being siphoned”.
The Petition further stated that, “under the chairmanship of Mr. Oyeniyi Akande, the Governing council threw decorum into wind by increasing the stipulate fees for collection of Certificates by the Students from five thousand naira (N5, 000) to twelve thousand naira (N12, 000) and Ten Thousand naira (N10, 000) to Twenty-two thousand naira (N22, 000) for NCE and Degree graduates respectively. And, substantial part of the proceeds realized was siphoned by the Council Chairman.
“Also, the College engages in commercial transportation for convenience of the Staff and Students where two Coaster buses were procured for daily shuttle and hire and as at today, over Ten million naira (N10m) have been realized and squandered by the Governing Council Chairman, Mr. Oyeniyi Akande. It will interest you to hear that Mr. Oyeniyi Akande as Chairman of the Governing Council of the College, hides under the guise of being the younger brother to the former Interim National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, to use the hard- earned funds of the institution to run his Private owned Ila Technical College which had just only fourteen students for the Period of two session”.
It added that, “It is also on record that Mr. Oyeniyi Akande unilaterally increased his own monthly allowances from One Hundred and Ten Thousand naira (N110,000) to one Hundred and Fifty naira(N150,000) and those of other members of the Governing Council from sixty eight Thousand seven Hundred and fifty naira(N68,750) to One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100,000) since 2014 which contrary to the Osun State Government Circular with Ref No: S/PRI/23/187 (composition of Boards and the Remuneration of Members), due Process and College Edict.
The group therefore urged at the anti-graft Commission to request for all the flight tickets of all the travel allowances from Abuja to Ila-Orangun,Osun State, being claimed by the Part-Time Chairman of Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun, Governing Council, Mr. Oyeniyi Akande for the period of 2013 to March 2016.
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