Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday denied a media report that he earns N40,000 as a lecturer at the National Open University, NOUN, saying he was rendering the service pro-bono.
Obasanjo gave the clarification in a statement by his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi.
The former President, described the media report, as embarrassing, uncharitable, mischievous and in bad taste.
He however, called for immediate retraction and apology from the Office of the Vice Chancellor.
The statement read: “My attention was drawn to a newspaper report, published specifically on Page 8 of a national newspaper of Wednesday, March 20, 2019 with the headline “Obasanjo earns N40,000 as NOUN lecturer — VC.”
According to Obasanjo, “”Ordinarily, this will have been unnecessary exercise, if it has been the usual shenanigans of the media to sell their newspapers, but, the very clear quotation of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdalla Adam on the headline made this clarification imperative and to set the records straight on His Excellency’s engagement with the university.
“In putting the records in right perspective, His Excellency wishes to draw the attention of the Vice-Chancellor to his letter dated 12 April 2018, which was written to the University Registrar, Mr. Felix Edoka, when the Council offered him a part-time appointment as an Instructional/Tutorial Facilitator and Project Supervisor in the Faculty of Arts at the Abeokuta Study Centre.
“Specifically in Paragraph 3 of the letter, President Obasanjo wrote: “I will gladly undertake any of the functions mentioned in paragraph two of your letter pro bono and I hope that the functions will be flexible enough to accommodate my rather tight schedule.” (See attached a copy of the letter).”
In the statement, Obasanjo affirmed that he has not received any money either as salaries or otherwise from the University and not planning for such now or forever.
He explained that this intention of pro bono service was stated in his letter of appointment which read in part: “With pleasure and duty to give back to others out of what God and NOUN have given me.
“The publication, which has generated mixed reactions from the general public and calls from far and near on the elder statesman expressing concern, is to say the least, embarrassing, uncharitable, mischievous and in bad taste, with immediate demand for a retraction and apology from the office of the Vice Chancellor.”
