Facts have emerged on how Obafemi Awolowo University Management failed to issue identity cards to over 35,000 students of the university for the 2016/2017 academic session after collecting the total sum of N17.5 million from them.
DAILY POST’s investigation revealed that the university has a tradition of issuing identity cards to students in the first semester of a new session to galvanise them against harassment and ensure their security.
The standing rule, however, changed in the last academic session as after making it mandatory for the students to pay N500 for identity cards as part of their tuition fees, the university management refused to issue a single identity card to any student throughout the session.
Findings from students on the campus further revealed that the development has exposed many students to assault and harassment from police in which many of them have always been detained in the police cell for failure to identify themselves as students of the university.
More pathetic is the fact that a lot of students have missed scholarships and part time job opportunities for not being able to produce a valid identity card.
A student activist on the campus who spoke to our reporter on the condition of anonymity said there was an obvious case of fraud on the part of the management.
He accused the Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede-led administration of lacking accountability and transparency in all its dealings and to the detriment of the students.
“The current management of this University is practically not transparent, it lacks accountability in all ramifications, aside the “ID Card Fraud”, do you know that over N14,000000 (Fourteen Million Naira ) was paid last session as development levy by fresh students, eighteen thousand naira (#18,000) each from eight thousand fresh students without any corresponding improvement in the standard of living of students.
” The laboratories have been ill-equipped for years; the library and lecture theatres dilapidated and outdated; deteriorating hostel and health center facilities. These are the obtainable conditions of Obafemi Awolowo University.
“Till now, the Postgraduate students pay seven thousand naira (#7,000)each as health center due upon admittance, yet they still pay five thousand naira (#5000) for registration to use the health center. This five thousand naira (#5000) has remained unexplainable by the university till date.
” Despite the Tertiary health Insurance Scheme being paid every year to federal universities by the government, the university still charges students 1 800naira each for Tship(health fee), amounting to 63 million naira every session for thirty-five thousand students”, he said.
In his reaction, the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, admitted that identity cards were not issued to any student in the last session, ascribing it to “logistics problem.”
He however denied that students were charged for Identity Cards.
“Yes, I have just confirm now from appropriate quarters that Identity cards were not issued to any of our students for the 2016/2017 academic session, it was due to some logistics problem.
“The university did not charge students for it,” Olanrewaju said.
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