‘Give Peace A Chance’ – AAU Ag. VC Appeals To Protesting Students

By Raphael Okhiria

The Acting Vice Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Prof. Sonnie Adagbonyin, has disclosed that contrary to rumours in the social and conventional media, the authority of the institution has not increase school fees.

 “Upon my honour as the Acting Vice Chancellor and on behalf of the Management and the Senate of the university that there is no increment in the  tuition fees of returning students.

“This is contrary to the news making the rounds that AAU has increased tuition fees for returning students to about 100%. Some reports even say 200% or 300%.

Flanked by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, administration, Prof. Theo Agweda, the registrar, Mr. Ambrose Odiase, a top official of the school, Prof Adagbonyin and the head of Communications, Otunba Mike Aladenika, the acting vice chancellor, stated that protests in the tertiary institution have taken political dimension as there is a growing tendency for people to go to the university gate and lock it on every impulse.

According to him, “Non-state actors stir trouble from without. Internal issues in the university are externalized beyond the university community and selfish individuals seek to profit from it. We have this advice for all: give peace a chance.”

 Prof. Adagbonyin who addressed  a news conference on Tuesday at the conference hall of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benin City, Prof. Adagbonyin, accused the erstwhile Students’ Union leaders of being two-faced as they were part of the team that negotiated the school fees they are now protesting against.

“For the avoidance of doubt, these add-ons amounted to N50,200 only for all the programmes in the Faculties of Arts, Law, Management Sciences, Social Sciences and Environmental Studies; and for all the programmes in the Faculties of Agriculture, Education, Engineering and Technology, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences.

“Others include the Departments of Anatomy and Physiology and, finally, the Department of Nursing and the Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences. The over N120,000 being bandied by the students is totally false. The payment of N20,000 for the Learning Management System (LMS) is a “one-off.'”

Prof. Adagbonyin recalled that when the then leadership threatened to shut the university gate over some perceived issues, that of school fees was not even high up on the list.

He added that the only aspect of their agitation that was related to fees was the inclusion of returning (old) students in the Edo Health Insurance Scheme (EDOHIS).

The VC debunked the allegations by leadership of the Students’ Union that the authority of school had reached an agreement with EDOHIS to exclude all returning students from 300 level and above from the scheme.

Rather, he disclosed that the unionists were informed that the agreement they spoke about would only be implemented if it was true and officially communicated to the authorities, lamenting that the said letter was yet to reach the school management.

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