President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Isa Yuguda, former governor of Bauchi State who was involved in a N212 billion fraud case by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), as the pro-chancellor and chairman of the governing board of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

Yuguda’s appointment was announced on X on Friday alongside those of other chairmen and members of governing boards of federal universities across the country.

In 2017, the Bauchi State accused Yuguda of siphoning money belonging to the state through contracts awarded to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS), especially the State Universal Basic Education Board, the Ministry of Local Government Affairs and the Bauchi State Specialist Hospital during his tenure.

Salisu Abubakar, the state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General at the time, said most of the contracts awarded by Yuguda were inflated, uncompleted, poorly executed or not even embarked on even though payments were made.

Also, in 2017, Justice J. T. Tshohothe EFCC to take possession of one of Yuguda’s properties in Abuja over the same fraud case. The anti-graft commission had accused him of withdrawing N1bn from one of the state’s accounts in one day.

Meanwhile, Yuduga’s appointment by the president might not be unrelated to the pressure from a political group known as Disciples of Jagaban (DOJ), which urged Tinubu to appoint the former governor for at least a ministerial position. They claimed he had not held any political position since he left office and was fit for the job.