Unilorin denies Daily Independent’s report on VC’s salary

By Bukola Hameed

The management of the University of Ilorin has condemned the misrepresentation of its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, in a news report published in Tuesday, 19th October, 2021 edition of the Daily Independent Newspaper. In the report, entitled “IPPIS: I Now Earn Salary of Graduate Assistant – Unilorin VC”, ostensibly obtained from the Vice-Chancellor’s Convocation Press Briefing on Monday, 18th October, 2021, the newspaper quoted Prof. Abdulkareem when answering a question posed to him on the IPPIS, as saying, “You can’t imagine that I am being paid the salary of graduate assistant rather than as the VC as it should be by the IPPIS system”.

A statement by the University’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Kunle Akogun, however, said that “nowhere in his address or in his answer to reporters’ questions during the interactive session did the Vice-Chancellor say anything relating to what he was quoted as saying”.

The University’s statement read: “We want to state categorically that nowhere in his address or in his answer to reporters’ questions during the interactive session did the Vice-Chancellor say anything relating to what he was quoted as saying by the Daily Independent’s reporter, Mr. Nicholas Uwerunonye.

“When asked a question on the IPPIS, the Vice-Chancellor said that the first time the scheme started, he was surprised to notice in his payslip that he was paid the salary of a Graduate Assistant. He, however, added that the error was promptly rectified and from the second month henceforth his correct salary was paid to him. However, the newspaper’s report of this incident gave the impression that the Vice-Chancellor still earns the Graduate Assistant’s salary up to this moment!

“We are surprised that the reporter, Mr. Uwerunonye, quoted the Vice-Chancellor out of context and put words he did not utter into his mouth. We don’t know what informed this unprofessional conduct of the reporter. We are the more saddened that the false report was filed by the reporter who was actually present at the press briefing. Could he be up to some mischief or he was not attentive when the Vice-Chancellor was answering the question on the IPPIS issue?”

Condemning the false report, the University management demanded an immediate retraction of the report and an unreserved apology from the newspaper for this malicious misrepresentation that has seriously maligned its Vice-Chancellor’s character.