EFCC Summons 120 Ogun Teachers Over N200m Loan

National President, Nigerian Union of Teachers, Mr. Michael Alogba Olukoya

One hundred and twenty teachers in public secondary schools in Ogun State have been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to answer questions on a N200m loan they allegedly took from one of the old generation banks (name withheld) since 2011. The loan has yet to be repaid.

They will be quizzed today (Monday) at the anti-graft agency’s Lagos office.

The teachers, our correspondent learnt, were invited through the state’s Teaching Service Commission.

The teachers, most of who teach in secondary schools in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of the state, allegedly obtained the N200m loan from the bank since 2011 and defaulted in repayment.

Our correspondent gathered that the teachers had denied ever taking any loan from the bank, arguing that majority of them had no accounts with the financial institution.

A source in TESCOM who pleaded anonymity confirmed the invitation by the EFCC but he maintained that the commission (TESCOM) had no account with the bank.

The source said the state government had made available buses and a legal team that would accompany the teachers to Lagos.

The source said, “The story of the N200m loan was still a mystery to many of us. We do not have any account with the bank.

“We have asked the teachers to go and honour the invitation of the EFCC just to clear their names. The state government has made available the buses that will convey them to Lagos and a legal team that will accompany them.”

Our correspondent gathered that the affected teachers had been grouped into six batches, with the first batch, comprising 20 teachers, billed to appear before the EFCC on Monday (today).

They were said to have staged a peaceful protest on Friday to the Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle, on the matter, stating that they would not honour the invitation by the anti-graft agency.

Adekunle was said to have held a meeting with the teachers’ spokesman, Imam Noah Sodeinde, on the need for them to honour the EFCC invitation, despite their claims of innocence.

One of the teachers involved, who craved anonymity said, “We suspect that a fraud has been perpetrated somewhere. Many of us don’t have accounts with the bank, yet they said we took loans and failed to repay.

“How can that be? Some of the affected teachers have retired while others are still in service. EFCC should beam its searchlight on the bankers.

“This issue has been on for some time. They (TESCOM) just sent text messages to invite us recently. They called others on the telephone. They said we are going to EFCC to respond to allegation that we took loans and did not repay. They said they will arrange a bus to carry us to EFCC.”

Punch