The suspension of Prof. Jimoh Atanda Afolabi, the provost of the Osun State College of Education in Ila-Orangun, has been granted by Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke.
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Olawale Rasheed, the governor’s spokeswoman, said in a statement that the suspension is effective immediately and is in accordance with the interim report of the Investigation Panel, which is led by the state governor’s chief of staff, Kazeem Akinleye.
The statement, which was provided to DAILY POST on Friday, further stated that the Governor had accepted the committee’s recommendation that Dr. Peter Babalola, the Chairman of the Governing Council, continue in his position because there isn’t any evidence of financial misconduct or abuse of authority against him.
The claim of almost two hundred million Naira fraud against the Council Chairman was deemed to be unjustified by transaction details or documentary proof, the statement reads.
“The committee evaluated all of the evidence and determined that the council chairman’s three million Naira cash advance was compliant with the college’s financial policies.
“After conducting a comprehensive investigation, the committee found that the N200 million fraud accusation made against the Governing Council Chairman is false, deceptive, unfounded, and false.
According to documentary evidence (the voucher), he only received the legally permitted cash advance of three million Naira (N3m).
“On the Provost, the Committee looked over three earlier findings of investigations into a range of charges of financial mismanagement, power abuse, and corruption made against him from earlier administrations to the present.
“The Committee recommended the Provost be suspended immediately, and the State Governor has now endorsed this action after the Committee thoroughly reviewed all available information, including the State House of Assembly’s report, and conducted its own investigations.
“In light of the investigative panel’s findings, Prof. Jimoh Atanda Afolabi, the provost of Osun State College of Education in Ila-Orangun, is hereby suspended due to financial impropriety, concealing official information and records, and failing to update the Governing Council on critical issues pertaining to the college.”
“A final report is scheduled to be submitted by the Committee at a later time.”
Remember that issues arose early in January when Professor Afolabi was suspended by College Governing Council Chairman Peter Babalola for embezzlement.
A three-person panel of inquiry led by the state governor’s chief of staff was established by the state government to prevent the impending crisis from getting worse.
Later, the panel restored Prof. Afolabi as Provost, pending the conclusion of the panel’s investigation.
