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The Lagos State House of Assembly says it will invite the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mr Tolani Akibu, the Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, the Senate of the tertiary institution and other top staff over allegations of extortion and certificate racketeering levelled against the school recently.
The invitation was in connection with a news report published on Monday by an online news platform.
The story revealed that a certificate racketeering syndicate had genuine Lagos State University certificates that anyone interested could purchase for between N2m and N3m, depending on the technicality of the course involved.
In a statement made available by Media Assistant to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Eromosele Ebhomele, the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, noted that the source of the story could be suspicious and not trustworthy, saying, “because of its tendency to blackmail, agreed that the concerned officials of the institution be invited so that facts about the allegation could be unearthed for the sake of the reputation of the school.”
Obasa, an alumnus of the institution, said, “I agree that the committee should invite those to be invited to establish facts about the allegation, but we must not because of that destroy our institution’s reputation.”
However, the Speaker said should anyone be found wanting, they would be sanctioned.
The statement revealed that Mr Owolabi Ajani, who moved the motion under ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance,’ told his colleagues that there was a need to invite the commissioner, the VC and others for the House to unravel the facts behind the allegation.
Ajani noted that LASU had maintained a high level of integrity over the years, saying that this must be sustained.
“While Honourable Sa’ad Olumoh urged that the investigation should involve people in the Information and Communication Technology unit of the institution, Honourable Desmond Elliot and his colleague, Ladi Ajomale, who said they attended LASU, supported that the allegation be investigated,” the statement added.
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