UNICAL investigates employment racketeering

Vice-Chancellor, University of Calabar (UNICAL), Florence Obi, has inaugurated a committee to investigate the 2019/2020 employment in the institution.

The employment was carried out during the tenure of the immediate past vice-chancellor of the university, Zana Akpagu.

Mrs Obi, who inaugurated the committee on Monday in Calabar, with Benjamin Inyang, a professor, as chairperson, urged the committee to review the status of approval given for the employment.

The committee is also to review the certificates presented by the job applicants.

The investigation became necessary following the police detection of 31 fake employment letters from the university.

She said some persons who had gone to the police to complain of non-payment of salaries tendered their employment letters as evidence, but it turned out to be fake.

“When we received a memo from the police command in the state attaching some employment letters from persons who claim they were not receiving salaries.

“We found out after due investigation that they were issued fake letters by a racketeering syndicate.

“We have set up this committee with a mandate to review the employment that was carried out between 2019/2020 and to ascertain if due process was followed and the credentials presented by the applicants,” she said.

The vice-chancellor also inaugurated the Peace and Arbitration Committee, with a mandate to mediate with the institution’s host communities toward settling all disputes outside the court.

She said that the university had many pending cases in court, hence, it was important to seek alternative dispute resolution.

The vice-chancellor charged the committee to also look into petitions written by staff for alleged injustice and unjust punishment.

She urged them to exhaust all avenues during their deliberations and investigation before making recommendations to management for a final decision.

Mrs Obi assumed office as the 11th substantive vice-chancellor of UNICAL on December 1, 2020 after the expiration of the tenure of Mr Akpagu on November 30, 2020.

(NAN)