This statement was made by Otunba Mike Aladenika, Head of Corporate Communications and Protocols, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin.
Aladenika strongly refuted the baseless report claiming that the university was involved in selling admissions to the highest bidders. He dismissed this allegation as a completely unfounded falsehood that should be disregarded entirely.
He went on to describe the report of supposed admission racketeering as a "new generation-falsehood," suggesting that it was fabricated for malicious purposes to tarnish the university's image.
Aladenika clarified that provisional admissions were granted to students in compliance with the laws governing the university's admission procedures. He also explained that acceptance of these provisional admissions required specific payments and compliance with further requirements.
The admission process is conducted digitally and seamlessly, with students who follow the online process having no issues. However, some candidates who accepted provisional admissions failed to complete the process within the specified timeframe, resulting in the quota being filled.
In response, the university reassigned such candidates to other departments and faculties, often their second choice, to meet registration deadlines. The university issued reminders to students to complete their processes by August 14, 2023, to ensure eligibility for studentship.
Aladenika noted that only a small number of candidates for certain courses, Law and Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS), were affected. These numbers were relatively low, with 20 candidates in question for each course, out of 88 admitted to MLS and 135 to Law.
He questioned who would be buying these admissions and why a small number of candidates who missed the deadline due to their own actions should hold the university responsible.
Aladenika stressed that the entire admission process was electronically facilitated, minimizing human errors, and adhered to strict academic requirements based on merit, not patronage.