By Cheta Enyoghasi
Prof. Carol Arinze-Umobi, Acting Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Anambra State, has been called before the House of Representatives Committee on University Education for allegations of poor project execution and financial regulation abuse.
Hon. Abubakar Hassan Fulata, Chairman of the House Committee on University Education, made the news following the committee’s visit to UNIZIK in Awka.
He stated that lawmakers are not witch-hunting anyone, but they cannot stand by and allow issues that impede progress in the nation’s colleges to continue.
The committee found that the data provided in the submitted documents did not correspond with the reality on the ground in terms of project delivery.
The legislators questioned how the university administration could claim to have produced N1.5 billion internally in the previous year while spending around N3 billion of that revenue.
They stated that spending money without parliamentary approval is a clear breach of the constitution, and that presenting false numbers threatens the integrity of the university’s entire management team.
Hon. Kalejaiye Paul, one of the committee members, said the oversight visit is critical due to concerns made by many Nigerians that various MDAs would perform better if legislators were accountable.
He went on to say that if previously granted funds were squandered, there would be no reason to accept funding for any government institution.
The lawmakers decided that Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Carol Arinze-Umobi must appear before them in the National Assembly with the necessary papers in order to pursue further legislative action after finding multiple inconsistencies and violations in the materials.
The committee believes that it is against financial regulations for the school management to pay 100% for projects that are less than 40% finished.
