Despite Owing Staff Salaries, New TSU VC, Bursar Spend 20M On Software

The Management of Taraba State University, Jalingo under  its new Vice Chancellor Prof Sunday Paul Bako have  recently  purchased  an accounting software which several sources confirmed to be 'lower grade' for 15 million naira, Taraba Truth and Fact exclusively gathered.  

 

Aside from 15 million used in procuring the software, Taraba Truth and Facts also gathered that staffs of the Bursary Department were flown to Kaduna to train them on 'how to use the software.'  

Taraba Truth and Fact gathered that the idea of replacing the University's accounting software was mulled by the newly appointed Bursar, Mr Abraham Behago who facilitated its procurement from a vendor in Kaduna.

 

Sources familiar with the development  described it as an act of misappropriation of the university funds considering the school had a standard accounting machine bought by the previous administration which costs just two million naira.

 

"The new VC and the Bursar have spent more than 20 million on the purchased and training of staff on how to use the new software, many of us considered it a case of financial mishandling  and misplaced priority seeing that staff salaries were relegated to the background.

 

"This software is a very lower version to the accounting software being used by the University under the previous administration which was bought for 2M, this new software does not have capacity to do multiple functions like the previous one being used but the University Management still went ahead to procure it despite being told of its disadvantages."

 

A reliable source who spoke to our reporter in confidence said, for months now, the school pays only 50% salaries and that the university is in dire need of money to pay staff salaries but the management choose to replace a standard software that was purchased for only 2m with a substandard software purchased for 15m for reasons best known to them.

 

He added that level of financial mismanagement in the varsity is unacceptable if the management is really interested in making staff salary priority.

 

"While salaries are owed for months, the management has been diverting millions of naira monthly into their private pockets in the name of running cost. Every principal officer takes 500k each as monthly running cost and the VC takes 1m. It is on record that the previous management suspended the payment of running cost to all HODs, Deans, Directors and Principal Officers to save money for salaries and other demanding issues" our source said.

 

"Questions have been asked as to why the principal officers would still choose maintain a ridiculous amount as running cost when the school is on strike and students are home, this clearly is a case of financial mismanagement," a senior lecturer at the University said. 

 

Our source who also alleged that the Governor Darius Ishaku administration had given the principal officers millions of naira to furnish their offices, said the recently commissioned  DDI Senate Building was well furnished but funds were disbursed directly into the pockets of principal officers in the name of furnishing an already well furnished offices.

 

Our source while decrying the negligence of the unions towards tackling the ugly trend and the continuous employment by the university during the strike especially when the existing staff are been owed,  called on the Governing Council Of The University to salvage the growing rate of financial mismanagement before the university is grounded.

Efforts to reach top management staff of the university proved abortive as at time of filling this report.