The Management of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye under the leadership of Professor Ganiyu Olatunji Olatunde was recently commended for its judicious use of funds released to the University under the 2019 Federal Government Intervention Funds for Public Universities in Nigeria.
The Vice-Chancellor and his team drawn accolades as the Needs Assessment Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC) led by Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma visited the University between Saturday, 10th and Monday, 12th April, 2021 to assess the level of implementation of the 2019 Federal Government Needs Assessment Projects. The evaluation was crucial to the release of the third tranche of the intervention fund for specific projects situated at different campuses of the institution, including Ago-Iwoye, Ayetoro, Ibogun and Sagamu.
Welcoming the team to the University, Prof Olatunde, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Prof Deji Agboola, said the Management knows the rules and had always abided by them in the overall interest of stakeholders within the system.
According to him, the establishment of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and development in Nigerian Universities.
He noted that the regular provision of funds for projects execution and equipment procurement through the special intervention programmes in public tertiary institutions has also enhanced academic service delivery and restored confidence in the education sector.
“We have been utilising the funds that our donors have been giving to us very well. If Prof Olatunde, who stated that deliberate efforts had been put in place to make work environment convenient for staff and learning atmosphere conducive for students, however, revealed that the outbreak of coronavirus last year halted the timely arrival of some imported equipment. He said contractors were working on measures to expedite the supply of the imported items.
In his speech, a member of the University Governing Council, Chief Samson Oderinde, who is also the Chairman of the Budget Monitoring Committee (BMC) for Needs Assessment Projects in the institution, stated that the University was lucky to have a Management team that is forward-looking and committed to due process and transparency.
He explained that all the funds so far made available to the University have been judiciously utilised, stressing that evidence of efficient fund utilisation dots the landscape of the institution.
While noting that some projects have been completed and others still ongoing, Chief Oderinde solicited the continuous support of TETFund and Needs Assessment Intervention Fund for the University.
His words: “It is my pleasure to welcome members of IMC to the University. I want to assure you that our University is very lucky to have eminent personalities. I can assure you that all the funds made available to the University thus far have been judiciously utilised.
If you look around the nooks and crannies of the University, I’m sure you would have seen how well we have used the funds. Several of the projects have been completed, some are ongoing and if you go to site, you will be satisfied at how the various projects have been executed.
We want to encourage TETFund and Needs Assessment to continue to support us appropriately. This University is promising and the Management is forward-looking and patriotic. Whatever money made available would be used accordingly and results would be gotten.”
Speaking on the occasion, the IMC team leader, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, disclosed that the visit to OOU was to monitor all projects implemented through Needs Assessment Intervention Fund and ascertain the level of compliance with due process by the varsity.
He also pointed out that the visit was expected to facilitate the timely release of the third and final tranche of the total fund disbursement to the University under the special intervention programme.
Nwokoma justified the revitalisation of tertiary institutions in the country through the Needs Assessment Intervention. According to him, it was a product of the collective struggle of University unions for the betterment of the ivory towers.
“We have gone round and seen things for ourselves. If you remove TETFund and Needs Assessment, you and I know that there is almost nothing left in the University in terms of infrastructure, equipment and any other thing, especially these days that government has refused to fund the Universities. So, this assessment we are carrying out is a product of the struggle by the Unions,” he submitted.
In their separate contributions, representatives of staff unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), who were members of the Budget Monitoring Committee, were unanimous in their rating of the Management.
They concurred that the Management, under the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, has made transparent utilisation of funds for various projects and facilities its watchword. They explained that the Committee meetings were held as and when due while adding that decisions were jointly taken at such meetings.
The unions’ leaders also said they jointly carried out projects inspection and had always communicated their observations, if any, to the appropriate quarters, stressing that no breach of due process and extant regulations had been recorded till date.
In attendance at the IMC report presentation were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. CharlesAdekoya; the Registrar, Mr Femi Ogunwomoju; University Librarian, Dr Adebambo Oduwole; and the Bursar, Mr Semiu Makinde, among other University functionaries.
Other members of the IMC that accompanied the team leader included Comrade Samson Ugwoke, Comrade Sunday Adefemi and Prof Elijah Oyeyemi.
