AN INTERVIEW WITH THE FACULTY CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL OF PRESIDENT AND SECRETARIES (CPS), MICHAEL AWOYEMI
AFAS PRESS: You had lots of reactions to what was going on Wednesday the Electoral process, the fact that they didn’t suspend the Financial Secretary. What are your thoughts?
CPS CHAIRMAN: First thing I want to point out is, why the Financial Secretary alone? The President’s signature is on that document, so is the clerk’s and the deputy clerk. Whether they resigned or not, they should all be part of their investigation.
AFAS PRESS: Don’t you think we should all listen to what the house said about letting sleeping dogs lie?
CPS CHAIRMAN: The question of letting sleeping dogs lie is a threat to the association.
AFAS PRESS: It has already been agreed that the clerk and deputy clerk will refund the money.
CPS CHAIRMAN: The problem is not refund. He is caught, and what he stole if collected does not mean a thief is not a thief. A thief is still a thief. If collection is what matters, Abacha is a righteous man because we are collecting his fund, the fund he stole. We should treat issues the way they are. The fact that you have told someone to refund money, does not mean that he should not be called to investigation. Everybody involved in that act should be called upon and should be publicly investigated. If peace is the excuse, I don’t know what kind of peace that we are looking for. Is it peace so that subsequent administration will embezzle, is it peace? Because this has been going on in the Faculty in almost every administration.
CPS CHAIRMAN: I was in the house, and it is on the FLC letterhead that without the FLC stamp, the letterhead is not official. The President saw it, the Financial Secretary saw it, the clerk is aware of it, and the deputy clerk too is. The FLC’s position, moral position was to present this to the house first and then take it to the executive board. They did not do that. My position is, you cannot investigate people in office. Immediately investigation starts, they are suspended. And when they are suspended, until they are cleared before they can to resume their office again. So, you can’t tell me that you have a recommendation for the Financial Secretary to be investigated without suspension. That is my issue on whatever investigation the FLC is taking.
AFAS PRESS: So, what do you have to say about Peter’s resignation.
CPS CHAIRMAN: I don’t know anything about Peter’s resignation.
AFAS PRESS: You got a copy if his resignation letter?
CPS CHAIRMAN: No, I did not.
AFAS PRESS: So, the former speaker of the house says something about the flagrant disregard for the constitution by an arm of the association in his letter. What do you think he was talking about?
CPS CHAIRMAN: So, Olagunju Peter is still the speaker to me. But according to that statement, I must tell you that, the arm of the Faculty disregards the Constitution is what we want to know about, and I have heard about things that he resigned with the clerk, deputy clerk, and a good number of officials in the legislative council. We want to know why they resigned. What has the FLC done about it? Just because of these, it is not valid. The position of the speaker is to put these statements to check.
AFAS PRESS: The CPS was not copied in the letter. The speaker only copied FLC, ASES, his Faculty, and the Press.
CPS CHAIRMAN: So, the CPS has not been included. We await the interpretation of whatever is written there.
AFAS PRESS: Is there anything you want to say concerning the new elected officials, what are your expectations on them. Do you think they can lead?
CPS CHAIRMAN: You don’t have to tell us what you will do, we will see it. If the house is serious, the days and the settings he lead as the deputy speaker should have shown us that that house is serious. I witness the recommendation of the investigative committee and I must tell you that that committee is inefficient. And the recommendation that the Financial Secretary, with the evidence put towards by them, should be left like that shows that the speaker, whether he is elected or not, is not serious about what he is saying.
The question I want to ask is that when people were assigned offices and they were inaugurated, is it in the document that when they commit any offense against the association, we should leave them?
CPS CHAIRMAN: The words of the speaker are against the Constitution. This is financial misappropriation and you are saying we should let him be because someone felt maybe guilty or maybe remorse, I don’t know. That is against the Constitution. If FLC is not a family house, we have the sweat of parents of thousands contributing to that Faculty office, and you are saying someone misappropriated funds and all your judgement will be because the person has shown remorse or a sense of guilt. Anybody can fake feeling guilty. If you want to feel guilty, they should call a congress and he should prostrate to every Afasites for misappropriating their funds. What Afasites will do is now what is binding. The FLC are not expected to make laws according to emotions, but according to the constitution.
Interview Credit: Afolasade Ola
