23rd May, 2013
Abiodun Onafuye/ Abeokuta
Over 20 officials from the Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology have been arrested by the Police in connection with the N200 million WAEC fees scam in the Ministry.
Twenty two officials, which include all the 20 Zonal Education Officers, ZEO and a Director simply identified as Pastor and a Deputy Director are currently been interrogated by the Police at the Police Command Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta.
On Tuesday, the Police had arrested two officials for allegedly inflating the number of candidates in the State Public Secondary schools enrolled for the WASC examinations. Ogun state government bankrolls the payment of the fees for all its students.
The two officials initially arrested were the Zonal Education Ofiicer, ZEO of Ijebu Ode, Mrs Coker and her Ifo counterpart.
The State government through the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa had issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the scam.
A source from the Ministry confirmed the arrest of the officials to our correspondent this morning, saying that more people are still going to be arrested as the amount in question is even more than the N200 million being reported now.
According to the source, ” Yes, as I am speaking with you, all the ZEO in the State and a Director and his Deputy are currently at Eleweran assisting the police in unravel the scam. And I can confirm to you that more people are still going to be arrested because the scam has been in place in the last three academic sessions. If the Police truly work, they will get to know that the money is even m ore than N200 million”, the source revealed.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Olusegun Odubela has denied having knowledge about
any fraud in the Ministry, urging members of the public to furnish the Police with necessary information that will assist it to unravel the mystery behind the N200 million fraud detected in the Ministry.
The Commissioner stated this today during the Ministerial Press Briefing on his Ministry activities to mark the second
anniversary of the Amosun administration.
Odubela confirmed that all the officials of the Ministry indicted in the scam have been handed over to the Police, promising that it will not hesitate to hand over others that found culpable in the alleged fraud.
He added that the State government will not fold its arm to allow such dastardly act to continue, assuring that the outcome from the Police would form part of its mechanism to checkmate such act in future.
Odubela promised that the Ministry will not condone any form of fraud that will hinder the government’s massive investment
in education sector.