The University of Jos (UniJos) has dismissed as “total falsehood” recent claims by a former Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, is lacking in basic credibility.
The University, through Prof. Francis Kwede, Dean, Faculty of Law, described the allegations as “totally false, unfounded and baseless”.
“Dalung’s aim is just to tarnish the integrity of Amupitan; his outburst came as a surprise to us,” Kwede told newsmen on Monday in Jos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Dalung had accused Amupitan of corruption and sharp practices during his tenure as the Dean of the Law Faculty.
Among others, he alleged that Amupitan lacked the integrity to deliver credible elections in 2027.
But Kwede, while debunking the claims, described the allegations as unfounded, without base, and headless.
He said: “Dalung merely wanted to tarnish the integrity of Amupitan, the Faculty, and University of Jos in general.
“He claimed that Amupitan traded off the results of 16 students who graduated with Second Class Upper Degrees in the LL.B class of 2009/2010 session, with a group of special students while he was the Dean.
“We can state, as a Faculty, that nothing like that ever happened in that class.
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“Nothing of such ever happened in any other class before or after it to the best of our knowledge as members of the Faculty’s Board.
“There was no manipulation and trading off of results of any final year student who had a Second Class Upper division in favour of any group of special students who were alleged to have undeservedly bagged the said class of degree.
“Rather, on assumption of office as the Dean in 2008, Amupitan introduced the use of Excel Spreadsheet for the compilation of results in the Faculty, against the manual compilation, which addressed delay in result processing and arithmetical errors.”
Kwede said that the introduction of excel formula by Amupitan resulted in a more efficient and accurate result compilation.
He added: “His effort was widely commended in the university as it made final year students meet up with their Nigerian Law School schedule.
“So, management wishes to state that the allegation that Amupitan has no integrity is, therefore, false, baseless and a product of wild politics.
“The general public is hereby urged to ignore it in totality.
“The Faculty of Law and, indeed, the university, know Amupitan to have conducted himself with the highest honour, candour, and integrity while discharging his official responsibilities in the institution.
“No one should believe anything to the contrary.
“Dalung just wanted to smear a good man’s name.”
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