President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Mobolaji Aluko, to refund over-payment of salaries running into millions of Naira.
He gave this directive through the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC).
The Registrar of the university, David Suowari, was also directed to refund cumulatively the sum of N130,692.71 per month in excess of his due salary.
According to Punch, the overpayments were said to have been discovered during the commission’s visit to the institution on May 12, 2015 to carry out inspection of FUO’s remuneration practices vis-a-vis the extant government’s pay policy.
Aluko and Suowari were accused of appropriating certain allowances to themselves that were not approved by the government.
These concerns were raised in a letter from NSIWC to Aluko, signed for the Chairman of the Commission by the Director of Compensation, Chike Ogbechie.
The commission said the Registrar was being paid N130,692.71 in excess of his due salary of N502,580.25 stating that the university disaggregated its staff salaries, against government’s policy of pay consolidation.
The NSIWC, therefore, directed the university to stop “the wrongful practices” and comply with relevant rules and rates.
While reacting, Aluko in a text message said that there was neither disaggregation of salaries nor overpayment of salaries.
Aluko wondered why the issue was coming up in the fifth and final year of their tenure.
Source: The Punch
