Governing council, HOS, ministry clear YABATECH rector of corrupt practices

THE management and Governing Council of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos, passed a clean bill of health on the institutions rector, Dr. Margaret Kudirat Ladipo, absolving her of allegations of corrupt practices.

The allegations levelled against the helmsman, who is in her second term in office, by a group known as Save Nigerian Wealth, led by one Abdul Abiola, have also been described as “shameless and malicious falsehood.”

In the last two years, management of the school has been at the receiving end of a cocktail of libellous petitions written by one Hon. A. E. O. Akins. Investigations by the Nigerian Police, however, linked the authorship of the libellous publication to a suspended bursar of the institution, Olugbenga Ibirogba. Ibirogba is in court challenging his suspension

The petitions were sent to the various agencies of government including the Federal Ministry of Education, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Inspector General of Police, Chief of Staff to the President, the Head of Service of the Federation and the school’s governing council.

At the prompting of the Head of Service, the school’s governing council, headed by Chief Ebenezer Babatope, set up a five-man Committee led by Shehu Ibrahim Kagara to investigate the allegations. It came up with a report dated September 13, 2013, and addressed to the Minister of Education. The report cleared the Rector of the allegations of corrupt practices.

In a letter of acquittal to the rector dated September 27, 2013, the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Biekoroma Amakapabo, noted: “The council was satisfied with the findings of the committee that the allegations were spurious and baseless; and a mischief intended to malign the character of the rector.”

Head, Public Relations Unit of the institution, Charles Oni, while commenting on the allegations said that, “Interestingly, all the reports received so far from the affected agencies have given Ladipo a clean bill of health because every single contract awarded under the rector’s watch went through due process, and no single member of the governing council was in any way rewarded for facilitating Ladipo’s second term in office as she got it purely on merit and her exceptional achievements in her first term in office.”

He added that with the unwavering support of the council, and amid paucity of funds, the rector has been able to consolidate on her achievements, a development he said has made staff and students “exceedingly proud” of her.