The Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has initiated an investigation into allegations of fake appointment letters issued to some teaching job applicants in the state.
According to reports, a group of affected applicants held a protest on Friday outside the Governor’s Office in Akure, demanding a thorough probe into the fake appointment letters allegedly distributed by certain government officials.
The protest comes amid the state government’s ongoing recruitment exercise aimed at hiring 2,000 teachers for primary and secondary schools across the state’s 18 local government areas. However, the protesters claimed they were barred from proceeding with the recruitment process after being given fraudulent appointment letters.
In response, the governor, through a statement released on Saturday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ebenezer Adeniyan, directed that the affected applicants be invited as part of the ongoing investigation.
According to the statement, the government had already taken disciplinary action against three officials allegedly involved in the scandal.
The statement read, “The attention of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been drawn to reports of a protest by individuals claiming to have been denied employment during the recent recruitment of teachers by the Ondo State Government through the State Universal Basic Education Board.
“To clarify, those who protested were not teachers but applicants defrauded by scammers who issued fake employment and posting letters during the recruitment exercise, after collecting money from them.
“These defrauded applicants were identified during the biometric verification process and informed that their letters were fake. Already, disciplinary action has been taken against three SUBEB insiders who allegedly connived with external individuals to defraud the applicants.”
The statement noted that over 2,000 teachers duly employed by the government for primary and secondary schools had already commenced work.
“However, Mr Governor has directed the management of SUBEB to invite the victims of the fraud for a meeting, while a committee has been constituted to further look into the matter,” Adeniyan stated.
