Financial Scandal Rocks Imopoly Omuma, as Rector Collects Millions, Diverts Same with Personal Account

By Emeka Ezuruonye, Oru East

The Imo state Polytechnic is currently enmessed with high level corruption following a revelation that the Rector of the institution, Prof Chukwuka Stephen Kanayo allegedly used his personal bank account to collect millions from Head of Departments, contractors, individuals and corporate bodies, and diverts same under the guise of delivering an inaugral lecture.

In the cause of investigation, our newspaper stumbled into a letter with the caption, “REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE/SPONSORSHIP TO ENABLE ME – PROF. K. S. CHUKWUKA, THE RECTOR KICK-START AND DELIVER THE FIRST EVER IMO STATE POLYTECHNIC LECTURE SERIES AND WITHIN THE SOUTHEAST STATES OF NIGERIA” and personally signed by the Rector soliciting funds from the school HoDs, contractors, individuals and corporate bodies, among others with his personal account boldly attached in place of the school Treasury Single Account, (TSA)

In the cause of the investigation, our newspaper uncovered the account attached in the letter as follows: Account Name: CHUKWUKA, Kanayo Stephen, Account Number: 3006009817, Bank: First Bank of Nigeria Plc.

A source said, “This is an inaugural lecture that held in October 17, 2023, where a committee was set up by the school to handle, painfully, 8 months after the event, the committee neither knew how much was realized and those that paid into the Reactor’s account. The school is requesting anti-graft agencies like, EFCC, ICPC and Governor Hope Uzodinma to compel the Rector to present statement of his account from within the period to be able to ascertain what he illegally but personally gained while occupying official position.”

“It is criminal that instead of the Rector to allow room for accountability, he hurriedly went ahead to design letter forcing HoDs, contractors handling projects in the school, and other corporate bodies to pay into his personal account to avoid anyone knowing how many millions were remited. The Rector’s action is contrary to the institution’s code of conduct that prohibits public office holders from receiving official benefits through personal channels. Not only this, the Rector is in the habit of requesting 10% (percent) kick-back from any transaction involving the school” an angry source said.

A legal Activist who was interviewed on the matter cited, Part XI, Section 57, Sub-Section (2) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 provides in section 6, “A Public Officer shall not accept any gift, offer of employment, favour or any other benefit, item or service that can be quantified in monetary terms from any Bidder, Service Provider, or any person involved in the procurement proceedings.”

According to him, Section 10 of the Code of Conducts Act also provides, “Public Officers shall not create a source of personal or organizational revenue or advantage by inordinately using public knowledge which comes to him in the course of discharging his duties”

An insider source who pleaded anonymity disclosed to this newspaper, “the Rector, after designing the fund raising letter went ahead to mandate HoDs to pay either in cash or through transfer between N100, 000 and N200, 000 respectively, of which some departments paid N200, 000 cash to him in the office. Also, the Rector allegedly delegated one of his boys to go around telling the HoDs to pay the money if only they wish to be reappointed as HoDs. Regrettably, all of these HoDs were reappointed few weeks after even when some of them had served in that capacity for ten years and above and the agitation for their change was almost inevitable

Information further gathered indicates that the Rector was indiscriminately soliciting for the funds from individuals despite earlier approval of funds for him by the school management to carter for the proposed lecture.

Interactions with some insiders revealed that the Rector has made himself a demi-god who decides virtually everything in the school without taking advise from chief lecturers and other senior staff of the school. He was allegedly in the habit of rubbishing them at every given opportunity

“Anyone who opposes him is either witch hunted or threatened openly by the Rector. Not only that the Rector does not work in line with the vision and mission of the institution . He disobeys government’s directives at will and imposes on the school whatever he likes” a source reveals”

According to the insider, “the Rector is not bothered if the school collapses, destroys or goes insolvent, adding that the rector is at the habit of threatening the staff with sack or dismissal at any slightest opportunity and has severally boasted in different fora that he has his job intact at the University of Ibadan and has nothing to loose if Imo State Polytechnic Omuma collapses”

Meanwhile, all efforts to reach the Rector on phone was unsuccessful as at press time. Also, the Public Relations Officer of the institution was called but his phone was switched off.