Thursday, March 28, 2024

Great Ife Students’ Union Addresses Unofficial Withdrawal From The Union’s Account

Share

Following a protest led by Olayiwola Folahan Festus “Reform”, President of the Great Ife Students’ Union at UBA, OAU branch on the 11th of April, 2022, over an illegal withdrawal of over 700,000 naira from the Students’ Union account. An allegation had been put out by Eagle Post News Platform on the 8th of April, 2022, stating that former president of the union, Dr Ibk and current president, Reform collided to withdraw the said amount from the union account.

The Students’ Union PRO, Ogunperi Taofeek Olalekan “Tao”, in the early hours of Tuesday, 12th of April, 2022, released a statement refuting the claims of the conspiracy.

OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
GREAT IFE STUDENTS’ UNION*
OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY, ILE-IFE
Ken Saro-Wiwa Building, OAU

Tuesday, 12 April 2022

STATEMENT ON THE 720 000 NAIRA TAKEN FROM THE STUDENTS’ UNON ACCOUNT

THE WITHDRAWAL AND THE REPORT BY EAGLE POST

IN the evening of Friday, 8 April 2022, Eagle Post news outfit had reported that an amount of money – over 700 000 – was withdrawn from the Students’ Union account. While the news was eventually found correct in that truly, a sum of 720 000 Naira was discovered withdrawn, the news outfit was rather mischievous in linking the withdrawal to the President without any concrete, official evidence to substantiate that truly the President made or colluded with someone else to make the withdrawal. In fact, it must be noted, that the news outlet got to know about the withdrawal through the swift initiative of the Financial Secretary who, out of a sense of responsibility and accountability, immediately confided in a couple of persons about the unfortunate development which greatly de-stabilised him. He, until the bank statement was produced, could not believe or affirm whether the money was moved out of the account or not.

Ever Conscious Ife! While Eagle Post presented the report as though the President authorized it, it also implied with the last paragraph of the report that he did not sign. For a fact, the President has had no connection with any of the bank’s officials or any other method (USSD or internet banking) through which perhaps the money of the Union might be taken. Is it indeed not surprising that Comrade Olayiwola Folahan Festus, the unassuming President of our Union, was fingered this way?

THE OFFICIAL WAY OF WITHDRAWING MONEY FROM THE ACCOUNT OF THE UNION vs THE STRANGE, UNOFFICAL WITHDRAWAL


Greatest Ife! Articulate Ife! The truth is that the President alone (likewise the Financial Secretary) cannot sign or withdraw money from the account of the Students’ Union. At the moment, there is only one official way by which money can be withdrawn from the account of the Union. To withdraw money from the Students’ Union account, compulsorily both the President and the Financial Secretary will have to they themselves (and never by proxy) manually fill a withdrawal slip. In the case of the 720 000 Naira, neither of them filled any withdrawal slip. It betrays every modicum of logic and correct reasoning that the money of over 30 000 Great Ife students has been tampered with without the official consent of the officers they democratically elected to represent their interests.

But what the tragic intrusion into the Students’ Union account on Friday has signified is that the account of our Union is not safe. Without the signatures of the President and the Financial Secretary, the question is, “How come money was withdrawn and by whom?” This question must be asked with an understanding of the fact that the account is an inherited account and that there are possibilities of intrusions which the bank, through its banker(s) in charge, failed to apprise the officers of the Union (the President, the Financial Secretary and the Secretary General) who worked on the reactivation of the account.

TOWARDS ASCERTAINING THE TRUE STATE OF THE STUDENTS’ UNION ACCOUNT

It is with the full understanding of the gravity of the atrocious withdrawal and the burning desire of the members of the Central Executive Council to defend the mandate entrusted us by Great Ife students that a confrontation, led by the President, Comrade Reform, was staged on Monday, 11 April 2022, against the Management of OAU branch of United Bank for Africa (UBA) which is the banker of the Union.

The CEC demanded a statement of account of the Students’ Union and it was provided. We confirmed, through the statement, that truly the money was transferred to one “Bello Oyeku” at 6:43pm on Friday, 8 April 2022. Immediately, the CEC demanded for explanation as to why such transaction could take place without any official authorisation bearing the two compulsory signatories to the account. The Manager who was forced to come and address us at the entrance of the bank asked that the bank be allowed to investigate the issue, requesting for official letter from the Union to that effect. The letter was immediately provided. Thereafter, the CEC gave the bank an ultimatum of one workday to conclude their investigation.

OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND INTEGRITY CHECK


As the popular legal maxim goes, “he who must come to equity must come with clean hands,” since the personality of the President was indicted, he has submitted himself to investigative measures. The Financial Secretary whose office is proximally responsible for the financial dealings of our Union has also subjected himself to investigation. The two of them are being investigated by the Security Department of the University where the issue had been reported. This bespeaks the thoroughness that the officers feel obliged are needed to be invoked that Great Ife students may be disabused of doubts on their integrity.

To look at the concerned officers with a dot of conclusion that they are wanting is to orchestrate a form of judgemental bias and to preempt the outcome of required investigations, one that can only be engendered by misleading, political and weakly rooted assumptions. The only acceptable explanation for this is that, when you are in power, you unavoidably become the object of intentionally and unintentionally thrown pebbles and stones. The rational focus, when the President and the Financial Secretary have denied withdrawing the money, must be on the bank and its worker(s) who work on the account to provide answers to many questions of Great Ife students on this issue.

Until then…
Aluta Continua!


Signed ✍️
Ogunperi Taofeek Olalekan (Tao),
Public Relations Officer,
Great Ife Students’ Union

Read more

Local News