Posted by From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja on
Out-going Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola, has denied allegations.....
Out-going Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola, has denied allegations by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), that NUC diverted N600 million national education stabilisation fund.
Okebukola said contrary to the allegation, NUC, with permission from the then Minister for Education, Professor Babalola Borishade, invested the money which has yielded interests that was used to kick-off the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) as a result of closure of satellite campuses in 2002.
"Let me give you a background to this. Government made some money available from 1992, meant to address instability in the system. NUC decided to invest that money, so that it doesn't stay fallow.
"I came in in August, by September when we took steps to close satellite campuses, the Open University was being proposed. So Borishade said since you have closed down satellite campuses, there are some problems in the system and in other to get it stabilised, Open University must take off.
"The Open University has not got any budgetary provision for 2002, and since there is this money called stabilisation, he authorised that buildings be purchased for Open University to take-off with the hope that the money would be returned to the NUC later.
"N600 million was made available from interest on the stabilisation fund, the fund is fully intact, in fact, it has increased significantly since that time. I don't know how much it is off hand, but it is much more above what we met.
"The Open University came on board and we have asked that the money be paid back. Government has intervened and in fact, the National Assembly has also intervened. Nobody is going to call me after my exit to start explaining things, because up to the level of the President, the matter has been resolved.
"I will not openly be talking about how it was resolved, but the stabilisation fund is intact and growing . It is just the interest that was used," he said.