Ahluwalia and his wife to serve 14 days quarantine in Australia before going to Nauru

The head of the University of the South Pacific, Professor Pal Ahluwalia has vowed to continue in his role as Vice-Chancellor and President of USP from Nauru, however, he will head to Nauru after they serve their 14 days in quarantine in Australia.

Professor Ahluwalia says he remains the Vice-Chancellor of USP and will continue his administration of the regional body from there.

Ahluwalia previously claimed he was the victim of a witch hunt, after raising concerns about governance issues and financial mismanagement at the university under the previous Vice-Chancellor.

In a confidential report that was later leaked to the media, he alleged widespread financial irregularities under the previous USP head and including alleged massive salary increases, misappropriation of allowances and unearned promotions.

The report prompted an investigation by USP which substantiated some of his findings and called for stronger oversight by the university council. This was contained in a BDO NZ report.

Despite that, USP's executive committee suspended Ahluwalia last year, a move which prompted protests from students and staff at Laucala campus, and was later overturned by the university council.

Ahluwalia was cleared by the council to continue as Vice-Chancellor.

He says he does not have anything against the Fijian government.

In a statement, the Fijian Government said Professor Ahluwalia and Price were ordered to leave Fiji after continuous breaches of the Immigration Act.