By Comrade Mathew Nwaiyike

I have observed with dismay that since our anti-graft group, Anti-Corruption Champions of Nigeria (ACON) exposed the ongoing rot and corruption in Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Enugu under the watch and involvement of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Luke Anike, Anike, instead of responding to the verifiable allegations against him, has embarked on cheap image laundering and face-saving moves.

Our investigations revealed that Prof. Anike, apart from engaging hatchet writers and his kindred groups to defend him emotionally, primordially and sentimentally, he has also compromised financially some members of Enugu State House of Assembly especially members of Education Committee to protect him. This is like building castle in the air because as we promised in our earlier press conference, we have more dossiers on Anike’s fraudulent activities that we will unveil to the anti-graft agencies and the publics with incontrovertible evidences in the days ahead.

Corruption knows no race, tribe or status. Our main objective is to investigate and expose corruption in public offices, especially in higher institutions. This is because of the fast decline in the quality of education in Nigeria, due to poor management of public schools.

As Anike and his cohorts battle hard to sweep under the carpet, deceive people and divert attention from the damning allegations against him, there are pertinent questions we will like him to answer.

Is not true that Prof. Anike and his management team forcefully withdrew over N500M from staff contributions to ESUT co-operative with no concrete plan to pay?

Is it not that Prof. Anike’s Personal Assistant, Chibuike Nwatu collects N180,000 weekly to supply gas to hostels and yet there is never light and water in the hostels. These hostels have remained the worst hostels among university hostels in the country today. This fact is known to Bishop Igwebuike Onah-led Governing Council, who querried why Nwatu should run the hostel. We have the query which Prof. Anike out of obstinacy and arrogance has not answered till date.

Again is it not true that Anike’s PA, Chibuike Nwatu spends one million Naira monthly on purchase of drums of diesel for running generating plants in ESUT, instead of spending less than N500, 000 monthly on payment of electricity bills? By the way, is it within his purview as PA to discharge such a function when the Director of Works is there and ready to work?

Is it not true that the Governing Council had for long directed Prof. Anike to conduct interview for promotion of Principal Assistant Registrars (PAR) to Deputy Registrars but for reasons best known to him, the Council’s directive is yet to be carried. Is it not true and a public knowledge that Prof. Anike does selective promotion of senior academics to the ranks of Associate Professors and Professors.

Out of a total of not less than 25 senior academics that have been favourably assessed for promotion to the ranks of associate and full Professors, Prof. Anike was only able to send out the papers of 3 of them for assessment, leaving the rest in his office. Presently only the three candidates have been promoted to the rank of Professors. The concerned academics whose promotion have been stalled and withheld are alive gnashing thier teeth and working with low morale in the ESUT.

Is it not true that Deans of Faculties have long overstayed their statutory two years tenure, with some in their fourth year, yet Prof. Anike has not conducted or has plan to conduct elections for new Deans to emerge, instead the VC recently created some new and strange directorates and appointed some Professors into it as if it is a political outfit. Some of such directorates include directorate of urban transportation, Gender Affairs and Centre for Special Education, even when ESUT has no plan to start a programme in special education in the nearest future. Why is Luke Anike hell bent on over bloating the wage bill of ESUT with less than 2 months to go?

It is quite disheartening to note that inspite of the fact that Enugu State Government has doubled the monthly subvention to ESUT from N100m to over N200m over the last two years, there is nothing on ground to reflect the quantum leap in the financial standing of the university. Rather since then, Prof. Anike had borrowed over N500m from ESUT cooperative society in order to pay salaries. He has failed to remit already deducted check-off dues belonging to the labour unions in the university (ASUU, NASU, SSA, NAT) running into millions of Naira. He has also failed to remit as and when due to the Government, the various taxes already deducted from sundry transactions and staff incomes. Prof. Anike has failed to offset any part of the over N5b owed to ESUT staff from arrears of allowances (CONTIS, CONMAS and Earned Allowances. The Last VC reduced the the initial outstanding by over 40% and still left over N500M with which Luke commenced his administration. What is Prof. Anike leaving for the incoming VC? Delude of liabilities?

These are posers Prof. Anike and his allies who have ran ESUT aground for selfish and materialistic reasons should provide answers to, instead of spending the little resources in the already looted and depleted ESUT treasury to embark on a vainglory image laundering that will not help him. More details will be provided on the conduit pipes Prof. Anike and his partners in crime are using in laundering ESUT fund since he took over as vice chancellor. Prof. Anike must be made to account for his stewardship as his remains the worst in the history of ESUT.

Comrade Mathew Nwaiyike, National Coordinator, Anti-Corruption Champions of Nigeria (ACON) writes from FCT, Abuja.