Newly appointed Special Adviser on Education to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Joseph Odemuyiwa, has confirmed SaharaReporters’ story accusing him of certificate forgery.
On Monday, the respected online news medium had published a story exposing how Odemuyiwa forged a letter of promotion to become associate professor when he left Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, to Kwara State University.
Apart from being sent packing from KWASU, the Ogun governor appointee was asked to refund all payment made to him upon his sack from the university.
Aside from his issue in Kwara State University, sources confirmed to SaharaReporters that most of the claims outlined by Odemuyiwa on his resume were all made up to continue to sustain his lies and scheming.
Giving his own side of the story, Odemuyiwa accepted that his appointment did not pass through the normal process.
He said, “I took an appointment with KWASU based on the understanding of adjunct lectureship.
“One can observe that the letter lacks the basic conditions and terms of employment for a full time appointment.
“The remuneration was not also attached. The Vice Chancellor actually wanted me to assist in perfecting Business Education, which was running its second year and was not listed for NUC’s initial program accreditation, and also help in recruiting younger academics for the program.
“I gave a letter of resignation dated March 1, 2011. The letter was never acknowledged to date, rather pressures were mounted on me that the university registry had been complaining that an adjunct position ought not to have been given to anyone below professorial cadre like me. It was on this premise that I was invited for interview for the readership position.
“My final departure from KWASU fetched me a letter later requesting for a refund of all salaries and allowances paid to me during my stay with them with a claim that I got the job illegally. I paid all, as requested, including all tax earlier deducted to fulfill all righteousness.”
Odemuyiwa also shed more light into his frequent change of workplace and movement between Tai Solarin University of Education and OOU, both in Ogun State.
He said, “My first contact with Tai Solarin University of Education was in 2005 when I was offered a sabbatical job as a Senior Lecturer in Business Education in the Department of Vocational and Technical Education.
“I became the Head of the unit and was able to fine-tune Business Education in the young university. I left at the expiration of my one year tenure for Olabisi Onabanjo University that was also looking for someone to help secure NUC accreditation.
“Towards the end of 2008 again, TASUED had problems with accreditation this time in the Department of Economics (Business Management Unit) and I was invited again and offered a part time appointment as a Senior Lecturer.
“While I remained a Senior Lecturer in Business Management in the College of Social and Management Sciences, the College of Applied Education and Vocational Technology of the same university would not let me go. I was also appointed an External Examiner for Business Education for the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 sessions.”
Speaking further, Odemuyiwa explained that his job application into TASUED was facilitated by ex-governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.
He added that he was given a position he did not apply for in the school, accepted the job offer but never resumed work in the tertiary institution.
He stated, “My application was actually summoned by the visitor and proprietor of the university, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, the then governor of Ogun State.
“The governor got attracted to my paper on Business Education as a synergy for poverty alleviation and socio-economic viability in South-West Nigeria and wanted me to do something in my area of specialisation with TASUED, hence the executive approval of my professorial chair as a minute on my application under reference to the Vice Chancellor.
“The university responded to my application by giving a letter of appointment as a Senior Lecturer (a position I never applied for, and which I have been occupying since 2005.
“This was dated March 30, 2011. I was persuaded to accept the offer in the interim to allow for proper processing of the visitor’s approval of my full professorial chair. This I did but never resumed till date.
“One thing I remember, the university management invited me for an interview for the position of a Reader/Associate Professor which I never applied for after the exit of Otunba Gbenga Daniel.
“I attended this interview to put my skills to test for a higher academic position. The outcome of the interview was never known or communicated to me till date, I still earnestly await it.”
Apart from Odemuyiwa, the Ogun State governor had also appointed selected two others with questionable academic credentials to be part of his administration in recent days.
They are Sidi Osho and Adeleye Adebiyi, who were selected as Commissioner for Education and Special Adviser on Politics respectively.
