The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Abayomi Fasina, has debunked allegation of salary fraud levelled against him by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the university.
He said that he never received double salaries from two universities during his sabbatical as being alleged.
In an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, Mr Fasina explained that he had his two sabbatical leaves at different times at FUOYE while he was a lecturer at Ekiti State University (EKSU).
The union had alleged that Mr Fasina received two salaries from FUOYE and EKSU in the State of FUOYE Report.
ASUU, in the report, frowned at the appointment of Mr Fasina, who it said joined the university from EKSU.
It alleged the former lecturer at the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences at EKSU was recruited fraudulently into FUOYE.
“Professor Fasina came to the university in the year 2015 as a sabbatical staff from Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, and became a tenured staff without returning to his previous university before he became a tenured staff of FUOYE in the year 2017.
“He ought to apply from Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, where he is a confirmed professor,” the union said in the report.
It alleged that Mr Fasina received salaries as a lecturer at EKSU and FUOYE between October 2016 and February 2017, after the expiration of his sabbatical leave at FUOYE.
“He had applied for a 189-day leave to complete his students’ project supervision and other duties he was saddled with on sabbatical appointment at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti.
“The leave was scheduled to commence on January 2, 2016, and end on September 22, 2016.
“Fasina was acknowledged by the management of Ekiti State University on December 21, 2016, to have completed his sabbatical at FUOYE and had resumed work on Sept. 23, 2016.”
This came about five months after Mr Fasina had written to the Vice Chancellor of EKSU applying for ‘Transfer of Service from Ekiti State University to Federal University, Oye-Ekiti.
His letter to the VC was dated August 21, 2017.
In the letter, Mr Fasina noted that the transfer of service to the Federal University would take effect from Sept. 1, 2017.
The union alleged that while he had returned to EKSU at the end of his sabbatical leave, payment of his salary by FUOYE management as a professor on sabbatical leave continued from October 2016 to February 2017 on CONUASS 7/10.
Mr Fasina, however, told NAN that he also started another engagement as a visiting lecturer at the end of his sabbatical and was only paid half of his salary because “visiting was like a part-time appointment.
“The sabbatical leave was granted me in 2015. I started in January and ended in December which is normal with Sabbatical leave. I also wrote to my institution, EKSU to use my deferred leave and I was given an approval letter to use my deferred leave from January to September 2016.
“I finished that and after which I started a visiting appointment which is not a tenure appointment. I have the letter to that effect. It was dated 10th October 2016. Visiting appointment is not a salaried appointment. It’s like a part-time job which is allowed; it’s not a tenured or a permanent job,” he added.
He insisted that there was never a time he worked on two permanent appointments.
“There was no time I worked on two permanent appointments and I have all my letters; the letter for transfer of service, the letter for accumulated leave approval by EKSU and the letter when I resumed,” he said.
Asked to clarify differences between being on sabbatical and on visiting, he said: “when you are on sabbatical, you get your full salary with all the allowances and your salary will also be running at your former university.
“A professor is entitled to a sabbatical every six or seven years. When you are doing that, your university gives you approval and the other one gives you a letter. So I got those letters,” he added. (NAN)
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