The President and Founder of American Heritage University of Southern California, (AHUSC), United States, Prof. Tony Ogiamien has raised alarm over the fraudulent sale of the university’s degrees by a former Abuja-based university vice-chancellor and an Abuja-based consultant.
Prof. Ogiamien, who spoke to National Point from his base in the United States, accused the erstwhile Vice Chancellor and one Dr. Kekere of selling the school’s certificates, degrees and awarding honourary or postgraduate degrees to unsuspecting general public.
He said that he has done a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the two persons on the fraud, a copy of which he made to the Inspector General of the Police.
Ogiamien added that the initial partnership agreement between the American online university and the Abuja-based institution was only to recruit students for AHUSC and not to lecture students of the university and issuing any degree or award on behalf of the American institution.
The former Dean of Law, University of Benin (UNIBEN) decried the action of the two men acting on behalf of university without the knowledge of the authorities.
The president and founder of AHUSC warned: “Anybody involving in any academic transaction with them or any other person/s in Nigeria on behalf of AHUSC does it at his/her risk.”
Attempts to speak with the former Vice-chancellor failed as he refused to answer several calls to his mobile phone. But Dr. Kekere denied the allegations, stating that he lives and works in Kaduna and not Abuja and had never in any way been involved in acting on behalf of any University in Nigeria or abroad particularly that of American Heritage University of Southern California.
“I was never for once a party to any treaty with the said university and never collected a farthing or dime or kobo from anybody on behalf of the said university. My academic records excluded that of AHUSC and had never visited or even seen the certificates of the said university whatsoever,” he said
