A former vice chancellor at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) listed Chancellor Johnson O. Akinleye and two University of North Carolina Board of Governors members in a whistleblower lawsuit filed against NCCU last week.
The filing came two days before Akinleye was formally installed as chancellor on April 19.
In his complaint filed in Durham’s Superior Court, Benjamin Durant, former vice chancellor for administration and finance at NCCU, alleges that Akinleye worked with UNC Board of Governors members Darrell Allison and Harry L. Smith, Jr. to try to steer a $90-million to $120-million student housing contract to a specific vendor, Preiss Development of Raleigh.
Allison and Smith have denied the allegations, WRAL-TV reported.
The lawsuit also claims that Akinleye wrongfully terminated Durant after he questioned the chancellor’s purchase of a nearly $70,000 SUV. State officials confirmed that university funds were used to pay for the GMC Yukon Denali.
After the suit was filed, NCCU released a statement saying, “North Carolina Central University has acted in accordance to its policies and procedures. The allegations made will be vigorously challenged and defended in the court of law.”
The suit alleges that Akinleye, Smith and Allison attended “secret meetings” last fall regarding a potential public-private partnership between NCCU and Preiss Development to build and maintain a 1,240-bed, on-campus student residence project.
