Prince Abubakar Audu University (PAAU) has distanced itself from claims on social media that the Office of the Auditor-General of Kogi State was responsible for an increase in school fees at the institution.
In a statement signed by Uredo Omale, the university’s director of public affairs, management said the claim “did not emanate from the University and does not represent its official position on the matter.”
The university said its position has consistently been that the current fee structure is the implementation of a unified school fee payment policy approved by the Kogi State Government for the state’s three state-owned universities.
Management acknowledged that it had explained that failing to carry out approved government directives, including those on financial administration, could attract audit queries or other scrutiny. It cited the non-implementation of similar directives on other financial matters within the university as an example.
The university said that explanation should not be read as blaming the fee policy on the auditor-general’s office.
“The public is therefore advised to disregard such claims in their entirety and to rely on verified communications issued through the University’s authorised channels,” the statement said.
The statement did not identify the source of the social media claim, say when it began circulating, or give details of the fee increase.
The Office of the Auditor-General of Kogi State had not publicly responded to the claim at the time of the university’s statement.
