by ‘Jola Sotubo

A shocking discovery has been made by a panel of enquiry set up by the Ogun State Government to investigate the alleged misappropriation of WAEC fees in the state.

Upon getting wind of the alleged mismanagement of  N200 million paid by the government for West African Examinations Council (WAEC) fees, the panel was constituted and it has subsequently submitted its report indicting some government officials of stealing N31 million.

According to reports, the panel, while presenting its findings, yesterday, said that  some officials of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, reportedly added  a total of 3,571 external candidates to the legitimate list of students that sat for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, in the last three years in Ogun State.

The  administrative panel of enquiry was set  up by the Head of Service to look into alleged case of illicit and fraudulent diversion of government funds with a view to unravelling the fraud and  recommend appropriate sanctions to prevent  future occurrences.

Chairman of the panel, Alhaji Abdul-Fatai Opebiyi,  who presented the report to the Head of Service, yesterday, said  apart from the money allegedly diverted, various sums of money were discovered to have been held illegally by certain officers of the Ministry.

Opebiyi, who is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Strategy, explained that the panel had recommended appropriate sanctions against culpable officers and suggestions on ways of preventing future occurrences.

Responding, the Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle congratulated members for the successful completion of the assignment, expressing optimism that their recommendations would be faultless for adoption.