The Vice-Chancellor of Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, the home town of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Prof. Mobolaji Aluko, has been ordered to refund over payment of salaries running into millions of naira.
This directive was made by the Presidency, through the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.
Similarly the Registrar of the University, David Suowari, has also been ordered to refund cumulatively the sum on N130,692 per month in excess of his due salary.
These over payments were reported to have been discovered during the commission’s visit to the institution on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 in a bid to carry out an inspection of the university’s remuneration processes vis-a-vis the extant government’s pay policy.
Prof. Aluko and Suowari have been alleged of appropriating certain allowances to themselves which were not authorized by the government.
The commission alleged that the registrar was being paid N130,692 in excess of his due salary of N502,580.
The commission has stated that the university disaggregated the salaries of its staff against the government’s policy of pay consolidation.
Therefore, the commission ordered the university to stop “the wrongful practices” and comply with relevant rules and rates.
In a statement issued to the university, signed for the Chairman of the Commission by the Director of Compensation, Chike Ogbechie, from the NSIWC, stated, “The findings of the inspection in respect of your institution (Federal University, Otuoke) were as follow:
“The Vice-Chancellor was being paid total emoluments of N1,970,476.76 monthly, whereas he should not earn more
than N922,810.23 if he were paid furniture allowance en bloc earlier, or N1,043,176.79 if he were being paid furniture allowance.
“Much of the difference was attributed to certain allowances which were not approved by the government.
“We hereby direct the vice-chancellor and the registrar to refund the cumulative overpayments made to them.
“You are to report to the commission in writing, your compliance with this directive within four weeks of this letter.”
Prof. Aluko who had become the university’s VC since Febraury 2011, said, through a text message that to PUNCH’s Correspondent, that there was neither disaggregation of salaries nor over payment of salaries.
In his words; “Rather, pension and health insurance allowances were due to three of us, Diaspora Vice-Chancellors who are on Sabbatical from our foreign universities, and co-paid monthly in naira to us for payment to those foreign universities.
“Without that concession occurring, our own local salaries would have been wiped out completely, and we could not have accepted the job.
“However, the need for accountability is welcome, and Salaries and Wages Commission will be fully reconciled to the full facts.”
