Management of Wesley University, Ondo has dismissed the publication by one “Owei Lakemfa” purported to be a columnist with Vanguard Newspaper, claiming, among other allegations, that the university is owing 29 months’ salaries.
This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the Vice Chancellor of the university, Rt. Rev. Prof. Samuel Sunday Obeka, and the Registrar, Mrs.Ibijoke Yankey, and made available to the media.
The statement described the report as a “malicious and fallacious” publication capable of tarnishing the institution’s credible image.
The statement reads, “The Management of Wesley University, Ondo has noticed the circulation of a publication on a national newspaper and social media entitled “A Labourer deserves his wages except in Methodist Church Nigeria” by “Owei Lakemfa”. The said publication quoted some Biblical and Koran scriptures at the same time to justify his claim. Let it be put on record here that ‘he who goes to equity, must go with clean hands’.
“Without hesitation, we wish to unequivocally state that the alleged publication was malicious, and fallacious, capable of denting Wesley University’s hard-earned reputation. We emphatically dismiss the publication concerning our highly reputable institution of learning, which can be attested to by the recent international partnerships with some National and International Collaborations. We have signed MoUs with Gallaudet University Washington DC and Girne University, North Cyprus via Mersin 10-Turkey. Also other collaborations with Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), National Council for Special Needs Education, Presidential Amnesty International, Data Foundation/FinStudiez Ltd. Inc. Lagos amongst others,” the statement further said.
The statement also explained that university education is specifically structured by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in such a way that universities owned by religious organizations are governed by separate Boards of Trustees, Governing Council, and Senate.
“The Incorporated Board of Trustees of the Church do not interfere with University matters. Therefore, the issue of pension collection from workers of Wesley University by Methodist Church Nigeria and non-remittance do not arise at all. Besides, the University accounts/ Bursary and Audit Departments deal with the finances of the University and staff, with the Senate and Council as regulatory bodies and pensions with taxes are paid.
“Methodist Church Nigeria has its Board of Trustees while Wesley University has its own separate Board of Trustees and Governing Council in line with NUC Policy.
The Church Organogram and Wesley University Organogram are separate entities with each performing unique roles. While the Church focuses on driving the spiritual growth of members, the University is ecumenical and focuses on academic development.
“Wesley University currently does not run any pre-degree programme, hence there is no charge of any amounts on programs that do not exist. The University operates a Joint Universities Preliminary Examination Board (JUPEB) program which is a National Program coordinated by a national body. It is illegal to sell hand-outs or impose textbook charges on students. All textbooks are purchased from our bookshop”, the statement said.
The statement added that on the Vice Chancellor’s assumption of office, it was found that some of the Part-Time lecturers employed to serve on Semester arrangements disengaged abruptly, thereby affecting academic programs and computation of results, and subsequently the accumulation of Convocation exercises over the years.
“Consequently, they were paid off and some of the committed ones were re-engaged as visiting lecturers. Senate therefore resolved to abolish Part-Time lecturer engagement and opted for visiting, sabbatical, and full-time lecturer options only. This did not go down well with some Part-Time lecturers.
“This press release is our normal routine exercise to acquaint the public, Methodist Church Nigeria, Staff and Students of the University with recent trends in the University to guide against misleading information. It is also part of our sensitization effort to mobilize the public towards enrolment in the new academic programs of the University. We are appealing to the general public not to listen to comments that could discredit the laudable efforts being made by MCN and Wesley University Ondo, especially the current administration to make education affordable and accessible to all and sundry”
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“We call on people to disregard the said publication as not only false but also with the intent to destroy the reputation of Nigerian universities by some enemies of progress.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Wesley University, Ondo places a greater premium on quality and standards in all its activities, a policy which has contributed to attaining feats and recognition amongst tertiary institutions of learning in the world”, he said.
“All these feats were a result of the University’s quality output of highly qualified staff and competent graduates.
“In the light of the above, members of the public are advised to disregard the publication,” the statement added.
It noted that the university has re-accredited all its old existing academic programs and also embarked on resource verification of new ones by NUC in 2023. Currently, the University offers 45 academic programs all fully accredited by NUC.
“This year 2024, the university has had NUC visitation panel to assess its Distance/E-Learning programs and the University was rated very high in terms of availability of resources, equipment and capacity to drive the program.
“In the month of April, 2024, Wesley University, Ondo hosted the Community Health Professional Council and the National Association of Community Health Practitioners. The entire exercise was a huge success as a result of availability of resources, equipment and capacity to drive the program. The school of Post Graduate Studies of Wesley University, Ondo also got NUC accreditation in 2023 which attests to our academic growth, excellence and viability.
“Wesley University College of Medical / Health Sciences got NUC accreditation in 2023/2024 academic session. The College is growing to the glory of God. We are preparing to host NUC for additional Medical Courses in 2024 expected to commence in September 2024, and the University is currently embarking on renovation of her existing Post Graduate hostel and College of Law Complex. This is to adequately accommodate students of these new academic programs,” the statement said.
