AAU N100m Fraud, Gov Obaseki Reluctantly Sacks One Of His Agents, Austin Aghemelo After Trojan Media Exposed Their Corruption Dealings
GOVERNOR Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and the visitor to Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, has been caught in the bid after Trojan News Media reported the financial sleaze rocking the Nigerian Premier State University in which the Governor’s appointed henchmen have been exposed in grand graft.
The corrupt and illegal Special Intervention Team (SIT) that has squandered more resources of the university through unnecessary daily seating allowances; vehicles and housing allowances, without coming up on how a university is mannaged in 21st century has vanquished the entire institution, beyond redemption.
In a report which the (SIT) titled: “Ambrose Alli University dismisses 13 staff, demotes others for corruption, misconduct”, was fraudulent because these same set of persons were listed as purportedly sacked in 2012.
On Dr Austin Aghemelo financial fraud in the institution, the (SIT) report was self-serving; evasive, blightedly patronizing and a deliberate romanticization with financial crime for which the SIT is an alleged beneficiary. Trojan News Media earlier reported the collusion, deliberate sabotage of the university by the state government agents who are feeding fat from the University financial sleaze.
On further findings by the USDC, “Austin Aghemelo was found guilty of gross financial misconduct and was recommended to be either dismissed from the University or for his appointment to be terminated”, the report of the (SIT) reads.
*Below are some of our earlier report on AAU financial fraud*.
*Fraud Alert: Group Calls For Probe, Prosecution Of Dr Austin Aghemelo Over Allege Theft Of N43m In Ambrose Alli University*
WOMEN group on the platform of Associate of Women Traders (WT) who recently petitioned the Special Intervention Team (SIT) and the out-gone Acting Vice Chancellor of AAU Ekpoma, to immediately terminate the appointment of Dr Austin Aghemelo as chairman, revenue unit over abuse of his office, fraudulent acts and unnecessary extortion of money from them have again cried out over allege attempt by a member of the SIT, Mr Austin Osakue to cover up the financial misdemeanor orchestrated by his ally and bossom friend, Dr Austin Aghemelo.
Mr. Austin Osakue has been allegedly spotted appealing to the new Acting Vice-Chancellor and other members of the SIT and relevant stake holders in Edo State to sweep the matter under the carpet, thereby thwarting the State Government’s effort to repositioning AAU Ekpoma.
ASUU has repeatedly called on the Visitor, Governor Godwin Obaseki to as a matter of urgency remove Mr. Austin Osakue from SIT membership, saying ‘his lack of requisite educational qualifications and unwholesome activities on campus will wreak havoc on the repositioning quest and actual administration of the University’.
Trojan.com.ng reliably gathered that Dr Austin Aghemelo armed with his family members has been on a begging voyage while allegedly engaging the services of spiritualist for prophecy.
Sources in Ambrose Alli University told Trojan.com.ng correspondent that there have been new allegations levelled against Dr Austin Aghemelo by a top management of the university wherein he is alleged to be collecting three hundred thousand naira weekly as revenue from the University, but allegedly remits only twenty thousand naira into the university account weekly.
It was gathered that Dr Austin Aghemelo collects money from the University owned Guest House without remitting same into the university account. In like manner, he has been alleged to have been collecting raw cash from operators/sellers in AAU as “NEPA” bill without also remitting same to the authority concerned.
The Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof Sunny Adagbonyi in a meeting held with Academic Staff University of the Universities (AAU) AAU chapter last week, confirmed the women group allegations against Dr Austin Aghemelo.
“I’m not here to fight the union but to collectively reposition the university against persons and individual who have been collecting N300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira only) weekly and has been remitting a paltry of N20,000 (twenty thousand Naira Only) weekly, Prof Adagbonyi reportedly said.
Dr Austin Aghemelo who has been in charge of revenue collection for the past three years is estimated to have defrauded the university of a whopping sum of N43 million Naira only, apart from other illegal charges he has been collecting without issuing receipt to the people concerned.
*AAU Students Demand Sack Of Dr. Austin Aghemelo Over Sexual Assault, Extortion Of Students And Manipulations Of University Rules*
POST Graduates Students of the State-owned Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State wrote separate petition against Dr. Austin Aghemelo of Political Science Department indicting him of sexual harassment, extortion of students and manipulation of University’s extant rules of engaging the students.
The students in their petitions and copies of which were made available to Trojan.com.ng correspondent in Benin City detailed how Dr. Austin Aghemelo has been sexually harassing students (married women) in the department of political science but was covered up by past administration.
As acting Head of Department (HOD) of political science, he was alleged to have collected N10,000 naira cash from students for late course registration without the issuance of official receipt.
He was said to have collected N5,000 naira cash also from students without receipt who wanted a letter of “To Whom It May Concern”.
Apart from the petition, our sources in AAU accused Dr. Aghemelo of collecting a minimum of N15,000 naira cash without receipt from individual post graduate student before giving approval for them to present their seminar papers.
One of the petitioners alleged that Dr. Aghemelo collects as much as 40,000 – 100,000 naira from students under his project/thesis supervision. He went further to allege that the political science lecturer collects a minimum of N10,000 naira each from students as “blocking” in order to pass his course.
Dr. Austin Aghemelo was said to have been served a query by the Special Intervention Team(SIT) for falsification of age during the recently concluded biometrics exercise conducted by Edo State Government for all staff in AAU, Ekpoma.
In her petition, an M.sc student of Political Science under the supervision of Dr. Austin Aghemelo indicted the lecturer for sexually assaulting her since her undergraduate days in the university.
“As a punishment for turning down his request and advances for a relationship then as an undergraduate in 2001.
“This I know to the best of my knowledge is sexual Harassment which he started as far back as 2001 as an undergraduate”, the petition reads in parts.
Another petitioner, in his own petition against Dr. Austin Aghemelo titled: “SAVE MY SOUL AND ACADEMIC CAREER” brought the allegations of Dr. Austin Aghemelo’s extortionist inclination to the front burner.
“I was made to pay the sum of thirty thousand (30,000) naira only into an account sent to me by Dr. Austin Thomas Aghemelo before I was allowed to sit for the three (3) prescribed courses namely; International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Research Methods”, the two-page petition to the school authorities stated.
Dr. Austin Aghemelo could not be reached for his own side of the story as the time of filling this report.
Extortion, Abuse Of Office: Women Group Calls For Termination Of Dr. Austin Aghemelo’s Appointment In AAU
WOMEN group on the platform of Association of Women Traders (WT) has petitioned the Special Intervention Team (SIT) and the Acting Vice-Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma to immediately terminate the appointment of Dr. Austin Aghemelo as chairman, revenue unit.
In a petition titled: “ABUSE OF OFFICE, FRAUDULENT ACTS AND UNNECESSARY EXTORTION OF MONEY FROM THE WOMEN SELLING AT THE UNIVERSITY BY THE CHAIRMAN REVENUE UNIT DR. AGHEMELO AUGUSTINE” dated 5th December, 2021, the group swipes Dr. Aghemelo as a fraudulent charlatan and a gangster who wilfully extort the institution unto the bargain.
“We of the above named forum which to bring to your notice the fraudulent activities of the chairman revenue unit Dr. Austin Aghemelo in order to milk the university dry and his abuse of office. The chairman has siphoned the financial collection from revenue and takes it upon himself the running of the unit without taking along members of the unit because of his sole plans to embezzle the university of the huge money from the revenue unit”.
“There is no doubt that the huge amount of money is been realized from the Revenue unit without been paid into the university account and has threatened to sack drivers if they reveal the atrocities to the university management”, the petition stated in parts.
The group in their petition alleged that Dr. Aghemelo illegally collected the sum of N1,500 (one thousand five hundred naira only) from the women selling at the university gate and the motorcycle riders as registration forms without issuing receipt from over hundreds of people selling and N20,000 (twenty thousand naira only) from the POS operators without issuing receipts and their payment captured.
Stating further in the petition, the women group alleged that Dr. Austin Aghemelo “collected N15,000 (fifteen thousand naira only) as rent dues from those selling at the gate without issuing receipts to them.”
“The chairman has his own personal receipts, different from the University authorized receipts which he is issuing to the Motor Riders which he issued to them on a daily basis and to those selling inside the campus.
“The chairman has collected money as rentage from Ambrose Alli Hall, opposite Esan West Location Government Secretariat of an amount of N50,000 (fifty thousand naira only) without receipts and the field has been booked till January 2022 and the money is not be paid into the university account, and the field is used every weekend.
“The chairman has collected money as Rentage from the university buses without receipts and all the buses have been booked till February 2022 and the buses are mostly booked for outside Edo State at N60,000 (sixty thousand naira only) and within Edo State N45,000 (forty five thousand naira only)”
“The chairman is unnecessarily inflating the prices of spare parts for the buses and at times money will be released without buying the spare parts”.
“The chairman issued query to one of the bus drivers Mr. Ituah for refusal to raise fake bill to claim that he bought spare parts to which he never bought and till now the said driver is still on suspension”.
“Dr. Austin Aghemelo called the driver to query because he refused to abide by his fraudulent acts for number of times he will be given money to buy tyres rather than buying new ones, he will buy second hand, thereby endangering the lives of the users”.
“Undermining the huge sum of money these buses are gathering every month, the chairman Dr. Austin Aghemelo has refused to pay the drivers’ salaries for 8 (eight) months, thereby subjecting the drivers and their families to untold hardship”.
“Sir, the Revenue unit is generating a very huge amount of money that would have salvaged the University of one or two things at this trying financial period, but it’s being embezzled by the chairman Dr. Austin Aghemelo for his personal uses and other members of the committee are not aware of his fraudulent activities”.
“Sir, we are calling for his immediate removal and investigation of his unholy, fraudulent activities, his level of financial embezzlement and abuse of his office as the chairman of Revenue unit”.
“The chairman has continuously destroyed the goods of those selling at the university gate for failure to pay his illegal collection of money, and the women have gathered severally to raised curses on him over the destruction of their goods which they use to feed their families and paying their children school fees”, the petition reads in parts.
In the petition the group said the women and motorcycle riders have reported the atrocities of Dr. Austin Aghemelo to the Acting Director of works department about his wrong doings and nothing has been done and no actions taken by the Acting Director.
The women group in their petition fervently appealed to (SIT) and the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University to urgently investigate thoroughly Dr. Austin Aghemelo in order to restore sanity and probity in the revenue collection system in the University.
*Ambrose Alli University Panel Investigating Dr. Aghemelo’s N100m Fraud Allegations Commences Probe*
THE administrative panel set up by the Acting Vice Chancellor, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Prof Sunnie Adagbonyin to probe the over one hundred million naira (N100,000,000:00) allegedly diverted/stolen by the sacked chairman of the university revenue generating unit, Dr Austin Aghemelo has commenced sitting in the university.
Trojan.com.ng had earlier reported that the panel which was set up in February, 2022, could not sit because of the prolonged ASUU strike.
Stakeholders interviewed in Ekpoma reaffirmed their appeal to the relevant authorities to ensure that justice is done in the instant case in the interest of the continued survival and development of the university.
They particularly tasked the panel to painstakingly ascertain the actual sum of money the university has been defrauded with a view to taking appropriate steps of recovery and sanctions.
It would be recalled that Trojan.com.ng reported that financial exploitation in the Department of Industrial and Production Engineering during the 2018/2019 academic session amounting to nine million, one hundred and thirty two thousand, five hundred naira only (N9,132,500) led to the dismissal of Engr. Dr. Lawrence Imaekhai, the then HOD by the (SIT) in December, 2021.
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