IMT Enugu and the unsubstantiated claims of extortion
Recently, various social media platforms were flooded with various serialized snippets of what may at best be called figments of the imaginations and fabrications made by some hired social media hirelings peddling false and unsubstantiated allegations against the immediate past government of Enugu State, council, management, and lecturers of my great alma mater, Institute of Management and Technology, (IMT)Enugu.Considering that social media platforms are synonymous with fraudulent and unconfirmed tales due to their poor regulatory structure, initially I was quite unconcerned and dismissive about it. I thought it was just another story on social media. When I just read a story that was published in one of the most reputable national dailies on August 6, 2023, headlined "Extortion Galore in IMT, Enugu, Education Mess Deepens," I felt more concerned and worried about the situation. The article was anchored by the Regional Editor of the national daily.
My investigations included going to the school, observing things for myself, and talking to students, academic and non-academic staff members without letting them know the purpose of my visit. This was done so that I could determine whether or not the allegations that were published in the national daily were genuine and accurate. My results, which I have described below, are able to be independently verified as being factual, palpable, and supported by evidence. I was surprised to learn that the specific consent of the Governor through the Governing Council is required for the appointment of any employees into the Institute. I also learned that this requirement will never be waived. Since the beginning of this current Management and Council, there has been no formal approval for hiring issued by the government.
As a result, the Institute has not made any employments since the beginning of this Management and Council. The Council considers both seniority and merit when making appointments to Headship posts for staff members who are currently employed. Because the membership of the Institute's Council is determined by its geopolitical distribution, no member of the Council will be content to stand by and observe the marginalization of his zone. Nevertheless, in response to a recent request made by the condition Government to MDAs for submissions that would make it possible for governments to examine the current condition of things, IMT filed a submission that detailed the number of employees working at the Institute and indicated the ratio of employees to local government areas across the state.
The document, which is self-explanatory and was made available to me, can be found here. This session has seen a total of three gatherings of the Institute's Academic Board (AB), the most recent of which took place on July 26th, 2023. The Business Committee, sometimes known as the BC, is a lengthy Standing Committee of the AB that has no authority to approve anything. The legislative requirement to hold AB meetings cannot, for any reason, be disregarded. It has come to light that the Academic Board maintains a protocol in order to deal with any and all instances where scripts are reported to be missing. The technique has been used by the (AB) in the past and even presently when dealing with situations, and it will continue to be used. Those members of the staff who were proven to be responsible in the past have been given the necessary punishment. There are pieces of evidence that go in that direction.
It has been confirmed that all of those who accepted part-time appointments in the Institute are aware of what their remunerations are through their letters of appointment; nonetheless, this does not in any way condone any unpleasant action. On multiple occasions, the Council has terminated the employment of erring staff members who were found to have committed misbehaviour, extortion, or sexual harassment. In the meantime, the majority of the staff members on part-time appointments are individuals who are on full-time appointments elsewhere such as ESUT, UNN, and other institutions near Enugu.
These full-time positions can be found elsewhere. Because prospective corps members print their own Call Up Letters online, the charge that the management is engaging in racketeering with regard to the NYSC call-up process is vague and without foundation. This practice has been followed for quite some time now, and it is not anything that is unique to IMT. It was reported that the monies have been utilized by the Institute with the Council's consent to construct infrastructure for usage by both employees and students. This was done with the earnings from the sale of land that belonged to the Institute that was located in Abuja.
The most recent of these events was the handover to the Institute by the Consultant and the Contractor of an academic complex that had been created using the revenues from the previous event. The Council strongly suggested that the building be named after the woman who was honoured by the donation of land to IMT rather than any other individual. Concerning the problem of selecting candidates for the position of Deputy Rector, it came to light that the Extant Law stipulates that the Academic Board must choose candidates who are qualified and appropriate as long as those candidates are members of the Academic Board.
The present Deputy Rector was appointed based on the advice of the Academic Board, and this decision did not violate any known laws or regulations. The election of the Deputy Rector was decided by the Academic Board after a heated campaign, and the results were later approved by the Council. Therefore, anybody who is a member of the Academic Board, regardless of their position within the board, is qualified. This includes Chief Lecturers. Before being appointed to his current position, the current Vice Rector for Academic Affairs served on the Academic.
Regarding the matter of pulling the name of the former Governor, Rt. Hon. Dr. Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi into the fake tale, investigations found that IMT enjoyed the best of times under the administration of the former Governor Ugwuanyi. This is in contrast to the false claim that the name of the former Governor was dragged into the false story. The number of initiatives and actions taken by his administration is far too extensive to describe here in their entirety. However, for the interest of history, I will use a small amount of space to list what he accomplished for the Institute, which has made it stand out among the league of polytechnics in Nigeria. This will be done for the sake of history. These include, but are not limited to the following: roofing and repainting of the Administrative Block; remodelling of the Old Mass Communication Block; construction of Sound Proof TV Control rooms in the department of Mass Communication; remodelling of the Medical Centre; construction of a Block of Class Rooms, 2-Storey Building (3 Floors); construction of a Block of Staff Offices, 2-Storey Building (3 Floors); construction of a Block of Medical Centre (Bungalow); and construction of a Block of Staff Offices, 2-Store Renovating the Civil Engineering Block, renovating the Achike Udenwa Block of Offices, renovating the Female Hostel Blocks, building a story Building Block of Registry Offices (with two floors), and purchasing Furniture for the Medical Centre are all on the list of projects. Re-roofing of Plant House in Campus III and reconstruction of Roof of Modelling Laboratory in the Department of Civil Engineering, Reconstruction of Roof and Installation of Electrical Services in the Main Structure of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Reconstruction of Roof and Installation of Electrical Services in the Main Structure of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Reconstruction (asphalting) of the School's Network of Roads with Drainages, and Others Are Also Included in the List of Projects. In addition to this, the previous Governor disbursed the sum of 150 million dollars for the first phase of the re-accreditation of 18 programs in the years 2018 and 2020, respectively. This was followed by the disbursement of 285 million dollars for the second phase of the re-accreditation of 38 programs in the years 2021.
Even though they started offering degree programs only four years ago, it is now common knowledge that IMT faces no difficulties in obtaining accreditation for any of their programs. Concurrently, IMT had its 32nd–42nd Consolidate Convocation Ceremony throughout this time period. When the former Governor, Rt. Hon. Dr. Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, came to commission these projects in February 2022, he further released One Hundred Million Nigerian Naira for the completion of the internal network of roads and ordered the State Ministry of Works to go back to site and complete the network of roads in the Institute.
These events took place in 2022. It is public knowledge that under the leadership of the late Rt. Hon. Dr. Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) in Enugu became associated with the University of Nigeria in order to begin providing degree programs in a total of eight different departments. These departments include accountancy, business administration, public administration, banking and finance.
The fields of Information Technology, Marketing, and Mass Communication are also included. Because of the efforts of Rt. Hon. Dr. Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the school has a fresh new appearance. It was also found out that the Institute has paid staff salaries up until July 2023, and the government of His Excellency, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mba has been equally timely in delivering monthly subventions to IMT. Both of these facts were discovered. It was alleged that a particular staff member of the Institute, who has been queried for various offences including his failure to retire over N55 million cash advances taken from the school for over ten years now, has been on rampage sponsoring all sorts of things and allegations against the school. This is especially true after the staff member lost a suit that he personally filed in Industrial Court to stop IMT from investigating his inability to retire these funds.
Mrs. Edemba, a graduate of the Institution of Management and Technology in Enugu, writes from Agbani Road, Enugu.