The Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Ibadan chapter (ASUU UI) has constituted a monitoring committee to ensure that contractors engaged by the institution follow the contract model for projects funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).
According to the ASUU UI Chairman, Deji Omole in a press release on Sunday in Ibadan, the setting up of the committee followed a resolution of the congress.
Dr Omole did not however mention the membership of the said committee but emphasised that it was for accountability sake.
He said that the union would not fold its arms and pretend that all was well in the usage of the funds fought for by it.
EduCeleb.com reports that TETFund was established as an intervention agency under the TETFund ACT 2011 to manage, disburse and monitor the education tax to public tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The law imposed a 2 percent (2%) Education Tax on the assessable profit of all registered companies in Nigeria. UI is one of the largest benefitiaries of TETFund funding in research and infrastructure.
He also lamented the quality of work being carried out by some contractors engaged under the TETFund projects of the university.
He said some buildings constructed in Faculties of Education and in the Department of Statistics by some contractors in less than a year could be described as having failed the integrity test.
In his words, “This became important as UI ASUU congress members complained bitterly about the integrity of buildings being constructed in some faculties by contractors in the university.”
Omole added that the spirit of those who died in the course of ASUU struggle for intervention fund such as late Professor Festus Iyayi, will haunt those engaging in shoddy deals with public funds.
The ASUU chairman, however, clarified that the job of the committee was to perform oversight function rather than “witch-hunting”.
He added that the committee would ascertain if the projects being delivered were standard and complied with the specifications.
“We need to go through the papers and see what model was specified and what has been delivered.
“We need to begin to firm up our oversight function to ensure that those that are supposed to be in jail for poor performances are not handling projects on our campuses.
“This is why we have decided to set up a committee to oversee how government funds are being administered to fund building projects in the university.
“We deserve to know because no contractor fought with us when we were struggling in getting government to increase funding in universities.
“People lost lives while we went on struggles. We noted that some projects in Statistics and Faculty of Education have failed. We shall not allow our labour to be siphoned into private pockets,” he said.
