A committee of friends, Ogaminana, in Kogi State, has described the petitions purportedly written to the Kogi State government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the Vice Chancellor of the Confluence University, Osara, Engr. Prof. Abdulrahaman Salawu, as not only malicious but also inciting.

In a statement by Alhaji Isah Suleiman, Chairman; Musa Ohiani, Secretary; Yusuf O. Nasiru, member; and seven others, they noted that the accusations of corrupt practices, sexual harassment, and anti-party activities, as contained in the circulated documents, are nothing but the evil work of disgruntled individuals with the sole aim of tarnishing the impeccable reputation of this accomplished academic, administrator, and public servant.

The group stated that their independent investigation revealed that some staff members who were reprimanded for their involvement in unethical practices, such as insubordination, harassment and threatening of subordinates, extortion from students, and demanding sexual favors in exchange for grades, were behind the campaign of calumny against the Vice Chancellor.

Through this medium, the group called on the university authority to unmask these individuals and show them the way out of the institution, stating that such rotten eggs can only impede the progress of a noble institution like CUSTECH.

They also urged the state government to identify those behind these baseless allegations and deal decisively with them before they turn the cherished asset, CUSTECH, into a theater of gossip and rumor-mongering, with its attendant adverse effects on the academic progress the institution is currently making.

The statement read in part: “Our attention has been drawn to malicious and inciting documents purported to be petitions to the Kogi State government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the Vice Chancellor of the Confluence University, Osara, Engr. Prof. Abdulrahaman Salawu.

“We would have simply pushed the ill-fated documents into the trash bin where they rightly belong, but for the sake of the reading public, we are dignifying the trash of the write-ups with this response.

“We, members of the Committee of Friends Ogaminana, are deeply troubled by the unfounded and malicious allegations in the unfortunate documents.

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“The authors of the write-ups are either oblivious to the sound moral upbringing and high academic reputation of the Vice Chancellor, Engr. Prof. Abdulrahman Asipita Salawu, or they are purely on a mission to tarnish the enviable records of Prof. Abdulrahman, which have made him an asset of inestimable value, not just to Ebiraland and Kogi State but to the entire country, Nigeria.

“The baseless accusations of corrupt practices, sexual harassment, and anti-party activities, as contained in the circulated documents, are nothing but the evil work of disgruntled individuals with the sole aim of tarnishing the impeccable reputation of this accomplished academic, administrator, and public servant.

“It’s important to note here that our Association’s independent investigation revealed that some staff members who were reprimanded for their involvement in unethical practices, such as insubordination, harassment and threatening of subordinates, extortion from students, and demanding sexual favors in exchange for grades, were behind the campaign of calumny against the Vice Chancellor.

“Our Association wishes to use this medium to call on the university authority to unmask these individuals and show them the way out of the institution, as such rotten eggs can only impede the progress of a noble institution like CUSTECH.

“From our knowledge of who Engr. Prof. Abdulrahman Asipita Salawu is, we boldly state that the allegations of corruption, sexual harassment, and other sundry issues raised in the ‘ghost’ petitions are products of corruption fighting back, since those who have compromised and made huge gains from the system will always feel threatened when the right things are done.

“We know Prof. Abdulrahman to be a man of high integrity whose commitment to upholding the values of the university and the government of Kogi State is unquestionable. His exemplary service to the university and the state has earned him the admiration and respect of the government and the academic community. His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of education and his unwavering loyalty to the government, bestowed upon him the title of Deputy Chief Servant of the State. Furthermore, the Kogi State House of Assembly has openly commended his leadership, with a letter of commendation issued during one of their recent plenary sessions.

“The various commendations and recognitions are evidence of the purposeful leadership of Engr. Prof. Abdulrahman in CUSTECH.

“This academic achiever par excellence was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of CUSTECH in December 2023. He inherited 38 programs across six (6) faculties – Computing and Informatics, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Management and Social Sciences, and Science and Technology Education. In less than one year in office, he created three (3) additional faculties/colleges – Agriculture, Medical Sciences, and Law. He established fourteen (14) new programs, including Agricultural Science, Agricultural Engineering, Marine Engineering, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Petroleum and Gas Engineering, Law, Human Anatomy, Medical Laboratory Science, Nursing Science, Physiology, Physiotherapy, Radiography, and Medicine and Surgery (MBBS).”

They added that since the current VC took the mantle of leadership of CUSTECH, the university has witnessed many developmental projects, and principally among these are the groundbreaking ceremonies for the establishment of Barefoot Renewable Energy College, supervised by the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), and the Livestock Service Centre, which is coordinated by the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES).

They also noted that his flair for research and publication birthed the establishment of the Confluence University Journal of Science and Technology (CUJosTech), which CUSTECH publishes, stating that these are just a few of his numerous achievements at CUSTECH.

Speaking further, they said: “To alleviate the hardships faced by university staff in transporting themselves to Osara, Engr. Prof. Abdulrahman approved two university buses to convey staff from Okene to Osara (and vice versa) on a daily basis. Though the buses belong to the university, fueling is entirely from his personal funds, and this kind gesture is known by all the university staff.

“The reading public is therefore advised to disregard the baseless accusations being peddled against the Vice Chancellor, as they are the handiwork of mischief-makers who are careless about the development of the university.

“Our monitoring of the Vice-Chancellor’s activities so far has shown that he is focused on his mission to elevate CUSTECH as a beacon of academic excellence, and we implore him to remain steadfast and never allow falsehood from his detractors to derail him from his agenda to accomplish academic excellence and sustainable progress for the university.

“We can vouch for the integrity of the Vice-Chancellor and affirm that his character is beyond reproach, which are the necessary ingredients for academic excellence and the ethical standards required for the institution.

“We challenge those spreading the unfounded allegations to come forward with their true identities, as anonymous letters without names, verifiable addresses, and phone numbers are acts of cowardice by people who don’t mean well for society.

“We therefore call on the state government to identify those behind these baseless allegations and deal decisively with them before they turn our cherished asset, CUSTECH, into a theater of gossip and rumor-mongering, with its attendant adverse effects on the academic progress that the institution is currently making.”