By: UCJ-UI

Claim: A blog, PolityReporters, in a report claimed that the Students’ Union Public Relations Officer, Olalekan Ajibola has been exonerated of allegations of financial mismanagement.

Verdict: False. The Students’ Representative Council did not dismiss any allegations of financial mismanagement.

Full Text

The Student’s Representative Council (SRC), Friday, held a plenary session. One of the issues discussed on the floor of the house was the findings of the disciplinary committee setup to investigate the improper handling of the UI’SU TV by the public relations officers, Olalekan Micheal Ajibola (OMA). 

Meanwhile, honorable members voted against the recommendations of the committee and instead asked the erring PRO to write a public apology; pay a fine of N25,000 before Wednesday 12th of April and also be subjected to community service, to be monitored by the union.

Verification

To independently verify this claim, UCJ UI had a chat with the Speaker of the SRC, Eniola Olatoye. She explained that the council found the PRO guilty of breaching provisions of the union’s constitution. Specifically, the Speaker noted that his acts which had earlier been exposed by the UCJ, contravene the following sections: Provisions of article V, section 5(I) and (II); Article V, section 5(III); Article XXVIII, section 1B, subsection (III). He was also indicted for abuse of office.

Furthermore, the speaker noted that the disciplinary committee investigations report shows that money didn’t pass through the appropriate channels but there is no evidence of embezzlement. She stressed that the PRO did mishandle and mismanage the union’s funds but since there is no evidence that he embezzled funds, the house didn’t pass any injunction on misappropriation of funds. 

“Did he fail to follow the guidelines on how money should be handled? Yes. The only thing the disciplinary committee clarified and I echoed is that there is no prove that he embezzled the union’s funds,” she said.

She added that the report by Polity Reporters was perhaps a countermeasure from the team of the PRO.

Conclusion:

The Students’ Representative Council did not dismiss the allegations of financial mismanagement against the PRO, as reported in the blogpost. It is indeed absurd that a public officer would be cleared of wrongdoing yet asked to pay a fine