By Osamudiamen Oziegbe, PhD (Canada)
Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, occupies a strategic position in the educational development of Edo State and Nigeria. Established to provide quality higher education and contribute meaningfully to national development, the university has, over the years, passed through periods of remarkable achievements as well as difficult administrative and financial challenges.
It is against this background that the intervention of the Edo State Government under Governor Monday Okpebholo deserves to be examined objectively.
Upon assuming office, Governor Okpebholo did not hide his determination to reposition the university and restore its fortunes in line with contemporary standards. Without, at the initial stage, making a formal visit to the university, the governor acted on reports and concerns about the state of the institution under the previous administration.
Among the measures attributed to his administration were the reinstatement of staff who had allegedly been victimised or disengaged under the previous government, a dramatic increase in the university's monthly subvention from approximately ₦41 million to ₦500 million, and the constitution of a new Governing Council.
The council subsequently facilitated the appointment of principal officers, including the university's management team, in accordance with the relevant regulatory framework and the laws governing the institution.
The governor's administration also approved the implementation of the ₦70,000 minimum wage for workers and released a ₦1 billion bailout to assist the university in clearing salary arrears and addressing other financial obligations.
Beyond salaries and recurrent expenditure, the administration has also demonstrated an intention to invest in physical infrastructure, including projects such as lecture theatre facilities and hostel accommodation for medical students.
These interventions, in my view, represent significant commitments of public resources to the survival and development of Ambrose Alli University.
The question, therefore, is not whether the governor has shown interest in the university. The more important question is whether the current administrative structure is sufficiently equipped and positioned to translate these interventions into the sustainable transformation that the governor appears to envisage.
When Good Intentions Meet Poor Administration
There is growing concern among stakeholders that the enormous resources being committed to the university may not be yielding the desired results because of weaknesses in administration.
Critics of the present management have questioned the competence and capacity of the Vice-Chancellor and the Deputy Vice-Chancellors to drive the kind of transformation envisaged by the state government.
These are serious concerns which should not simply be dismissed as political attacks. At the same time, they should not be accepted as established facts without proper investigation.
A university is too important an institution to be administered through intimidation, fear or the suppression of legitimate criticism. What the university requires is competent leadership, transparency, accountability, consultation and a management culture that encourages constructive disagreement.
If those qualities are lacking, the consequences could be devastating.
The Salary Question
Perhaps nowhere is the anxiety among staff more pronounced than in the area of salary payments.
There are claims from sections of the university community that, although management has maintained that salaries are up to date, some categories of workers have allegedly experienced delays in receiving their entitlements.
The explanation reportedly offered in some instances has centred on irregularities associated with Remita and other payment processes.
This raises an important question: if the state government has consistently released its monthly subvention and has additionally provided substantial financial intervention, why should workers continue to experience prolonged uncertainty over their salaries?
This is not a question that should be answered with propaganda or counter-accusations.
It requires an independent and transparent reconciliation of the university's financial records.
The public deserves to know how much the university receives monthly, how much is allocated to salaries, when salary schedules are prepared, when banks are credited and whether there are indeed unresolved technological or administrative challenges affecting payment.
There have also been allegations that some senior officials receive substantial allowances and claims that are considered excessive or unjustified by sections of the university community.
These allegations must either be substantiated or decisively disproved.
The appropriate response is transparency.
The Remita Explanation
One particularly troubling issue is the recurring reference to payment platforms and alleged Remita irregularities whenever salary delays are raised.
Technology should make financial transactions easier, more transparent and more accountable. It should not become a convenient explanation for prolonged uncertainty.
If Remita or any other payment platform is genuinely responsible for delays, then the university should publish sufficient evidence showing the nature of the problem, the affected transactions, the dates involved and the steps being taken to resolve them.
If, on the other hand, the problem is administrative, financial or procedural, the university should say so.
The workers of Ambrose Alli University deserve nothing less.
The Fear That Nobody Wants to Discuss
Perhaps the most disturbing dimension of the present atmosphere is the alleged culture of fear.
There are claims that members of the university community have become increasingly reluctant to speak openly about administrative challenges for fear of victimisation or reprisals.
More disturbing are allegations of fear of spiritual attacks, popularly described in the local parlance as "voodoo"
Whether such fears are founded or exaggerated is beside the point.
What matters is that no university community should operate under an atmosphere in which employees are afraid to express legitimate opinions about the institution in which they work.
A university is, by its very nature, a marketplace of ideas.
When fear replaces dialogue, silence replaces accountability.
And when silence becomes institutionalised, wrongdoing—if it exists—can thrive unnoticed.
Setting the Council Record Straight
There has also been controversy concerning the frequency of meetings of the Governing Council.
Management has, at various times, been reported to have complained that the Governing Council does not meet regularly enough to consider and approve important matters requiring its attention.
But available records cited by stakeholders indicate that the Council has held meetings in recent months.
These include:
The 241st Regular Meeting of Council, held on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, under the chairmanship of the Chairman.
The 242nd Regular Meeting of Council, held on Monday, May 18, 2026, at the Liaison Office, Benin City, under the chairmanship of the Chairman.
Tenders Board Meeting, held virtually/hybrid on Thursday, June 11, 2026, under the chairmanship of the Council Chairman.
Tenders Board Meeting, held virtually/hybrid on Friday, June 26, 2026, under the chairmanship of the Council Chairman.
Tenders Board Meeting, held virtually/hybrid on Monday, August 10, 2026, under the chairmanship of the representative of the Council Chairman, Professor Iyayi.
If these records are accurate, then the narrative that the Council has been completely inactive or unavailable for the discharge of its statutory responsibilities requires clarification.
The Governing Council and university management must therefore stop communicating through insinuations.
Where disagreements exist, they should be resolved through the appropriate institutional channels.
Governor Okpebholo's Political Investment
There is also an important political dimension to this matter.
Governor Monday Okpebholo has invested significant political attention and public resources in Ambrose Alli University. Naturally, he would expect the institution to provide measurable evidence of improvement as part of his administration's scorecard in the education sector.
That expectation is legitimate.
A governor who increases subvention from approximately ₦41 million to ₦500 million, approves a minimum wage of ₦70,000, provides a ₦1 billion bailout and supports infrastructure development would reasonably expect corresponding improvements in staff welfare, academic standards, infrastructure, institutional governance and public confidence.
If those expectations are not met, the political cost may ultimately be borne by the government.
The governor therefore cannot afford to rely exclusively on reports from the university administration.
He needs independent feedback from staff, students, alumni, professional bodies, unions, the Governing Council and other stakeholders.
Time for an Independent Audit
The situation at Ambrose Alli University does not require another round of accusations and counter-accusations.
It requires facts.
If there are allegations of financial mismanagement, let the accounts be independently examined.
If there are allegations concerning salary payments, let the payment schedules, bank records and evidence of remittances be reconciled.
If there are allegations of excessive allowances, let the approved remuneration framework be made available for scrutiny.
If there are allegations concerning procurement, contracts or tenders, let the relevant records be examined by the appropriate authorities.
If management is innocent of the allegations being circulated, an independent investigation provides the best opportunity to establish that innocence.
Conversely, if wrongdoing is discovered, those responsible should be held accountable.
The Governor Must Look Beyond the Management Briefing
Ambrose Alli University cannot afford another cycle of crisis, denial and silence.
The governor's intervention presents an opportunity to rebuild the institution. But that opportunity can only be fully realised if the structures entrusted with managing the university are capable, transparent and accountable.
Governor Okpebholo should therefore look beyond official briefings and seek independent assessments of the university's actual situation.
He should ask simple but fundamental questions:
Are salaries genuinely being paid as and when due?
Where exactly is the ₦500 million monthly subvention going?
What remains of the ₦1 billion bailout and how was it applied?
Are procurement processes transparent and compliant with the law?
Is the university's academic and administrative performance improving?
Are staff and students confident in the present leadership?
Are the Governing Council and management working together in the best interest of the university?
The answers to these questions matter more than public relations.
Breaking the Silence
The greatest danger confronting Ambrose Alli University may not necessarily be an individual administrator, a governing council or even a particular policy.
It may be the culture of silence.
When people are afraid to speak, institutions become vulnerable.
When legitimate criticism is interpreted as disloyalty, administrators lose the opportunity to correct their mistakes.
When every disagreement is politicised, governance suffers.
And when public resources are involved, silence becomes even more dangerous.
Ambrose Alli University belongs to the people of Edo State. It is sustained substantially by public resources and therefore deserves the highest standards of accountability.
Governor Okpebholo has made significant interventions.
The question now is whether those interventions will produce the transformation intended.
The governor has made the investment.
The university community deserves the dividend.
What is required now is courage, transparency, accountability and competent leadership.
The time to act is now—before the silence becomes louder than the crisis.
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