• Cert. racketeering, cultism, sex-for-marks top crime chart
• School in court over debts
Several illegal deals bordering on sales of National Diploma and Higher National Diploma results and certificates by the Uyo City Polytechnic, Nduetong Oku, have been reported to The GUIDE newspaper.
The deals which were leaked by a senior staff of the institution to the head of our investigations desk are cut by a "notorious" member of the school's management team.
Our source alleged that the Polytechnic was selling off diploma certificates to members of the public for as low as N250,000, while higher national diploma certificates are sold from N350, 000 - N400,000.
The source added that a handful of graduands parading certificates of the school never enrolled for a programme in the Polytechnic.
"One very notorious member of the management team is helping people who have never attended the Polytechnic to acquire certificates once they can pay for such.
"I don't know who and who are involved but I know that the anchor man championing these dirty deals is working with a number of people including heads of departments.
"It's silly to tear the certificate of a school and give to someone who has never applied for admission, nor was given admission", the source said.
Independent findings by our team of investigators revealed that exams officers, in some cases working in connivance with heads of departments have in exchange for money or sex or both cleared many students who had outstanding courses.
A few students studying for higher national diploma in the Polytechnic who spoke on plea of strict confidentiality said they have had to "sort to get some courses wiped off" for them.
"My dear, I no go lie, I have paid in kind before. I'm not the only one", a female student of the Polytechnic said.
The GUIDE gathered that some female students in the school willfully give sex to lecturers in exchange for marks; a number of them too give in upon sublime threats from their course lecturers.
Our investigations further reveal that the Polytechnic still hosts a number of cult groups including, "De-bams", "Junior skin" "Ekpad" and "Black Bra", despite a rather weak anti-cultism policy and advocacy by management of the Polytechnic.
A number of firms that handled jobs for the Polytechnic have dragged the school authorities to court over huge unpaid debts.
One of the cases is currently before Justice Augustine Odokwo of an Uyo High Court.
In a suit no. HU/401/2016, dated January 9, 2017, African Institute of Information Security Limited,AIIS, sued the Polytechnic for breach of contract and sheer unwillingness by the school authorities to pay a debt of N3million to AIIS for scratch cards supplied to the school for students' online registration.
The contract signed on behalf of the Polytechnic by Mrs. Idara Aquaisua, Registrar, with African Institute of Information Security Limited, AIIS, on February 15, 2012 included developing a software for a data base for the institution, managing and maintaining the software and training personnel of the school on use of the software.
The data base was to digitize students' registration, including courses.
Findings show that students have had to pay N4000 as part of their school fees for the ICT services.
However, AIIS had previously sued the Polytechnic over failure to pay the debt in 2016 but both parties agreed on out-of-court settlement but the Polytechnic failed to honour the agreement.
Barr. Aniedi Etukudoh, Board chairman of Uyo City Polytechnic has been enmeshed in many cases of breach of contract with firms doing business with the Polytechnic, investigations by The GUIDE reveals.
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