ESUT Indebted To Tune Of N1 Billion Before My Tenure — VC

Prof. Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) has revealed that the university was indebted to the tune of N1 billion when he assumed office In 2022.

Okolie disclosed this at a news conference to mark his 365 days (one year) in office on Thursday in the Agbani campus of the institution.

“A debt of over N1billion, accumulation of convocation since 2016, unpaid two months staff salaries, other arrears, poor network and other humanitarians needs were inherited,” he said.

The VC however stated that N124,143,696.64 was spent on the repayment of debt in 2022.

Okoli added that despite the challenges met on ground, the management has been able to pay the staff their monthly salaries regularly.

He added that the university receives a total of N204,000,000 as subvention, adding that N136,000,000 comes from the state government while each Local Government Area (LGA) contributes N4 million. 

“At present, some LGAs have reneged on payments by specified months and the total indebtedness arising from the non-payments amounts to N184,000,000.

“Even when the total subvention is paid in full, the management must augment to the tune of nearly N200 million to pay the monthly salaries of workers.

“It is heartwarming to note that through prudent management of the available resources, we have succeeded in reducing the institution wage bill to N40 million currently,” he added.