Finally, Igbajo Polytechnic Fires Rector for Presenting Fraudulent Certificates
Akinola Olaolu, the acting Rector of Igbajo Polytechnic, Igbajo, Osun State, has been sacked for presenting fraudulent certificates; a decision which was reached after a meeting of the polytechnic’s governing council and board of trustees on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Olaolu who has been at the center of a fraudulent PhD certificate scandal, came into the school in December 2015 as a deputy rector to the former rector, Tanimowo Oke. It was gathered that he claimed to have a PhD in Economics from the University of Ibadan and his arrival led to the exit of Oke, who had a master’s degree as of then.
However eight months after his arrival, he was reported to have refused to produce his purported PhD certificate, as he submitted only a notification of result to obtain the job. Punch reported that a former registrar at the polytechnic, Bisi Odebunmi, was said to have also left the school after he (Odebunmi) demanded the PhD certificate in an official memo. Olaolu’s fraudulent act was uncovered after UI was contacted with a copy of the notification of result.
The Director of Public Communications, UI, Olatunji Oladejo, stated that the institution had no record of the rector, and the rector’s purported thesis supervisor, Prof. Ademola Ariyo, also said there was no record of Olaolu in the Department of Economics where he claimed to have bagged the doctorate.
When the rector was confronted with UI’s position on the notification of result, he said he had just obtained his PhD certificate from the school. However when a Punch’s correspondent obtained a copy of the certificate through a source and sent it to UI for verification, it was again disclaimed.
While the University of Lagos, Akoka, where Olaolu claimed that he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Economics also said checks revealed that the rector did obtain a BSc in Economics from the school, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, in a statement by its spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa, said the rector had been arrested over the matter.
The Chairman of the Governing Council, Igbajo Polytechnic, Prof. Olu Odeyemi, while declining comment on the arrest, said that the institution was awaiting UI’s response to the school’s enquiries, even though UI had told Punch’s correspondent that the rector did not have MSc and PhD in Economics from the institution.
“He (Olaolu) has been sacked. The governing council had a meeting yesterday (Wednesday) and the board of trustees had another today (Thursday). We made certain resolutions which we planned to release in a communiqué tomorrow (Friday)” he said.
