The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened to disrupt educational institutions that raise tuition on their campuses.
NANS leaders challenged university administration to follow President Bola Tinubu’s order to stop fee increases on their campuses during a press conference on Friday at the International Press Centre in Ikeja, Lagos.
Read Also: Tinubu Writes Senate Over War Against Nigerien Coupists
“We want to seize this moment to warn that failure to comply with the directive of the Federal Government on the matter of fee increment will leave us with no choice but to evoke a nationwide confrontation.
“We will not only take our protests to the streets, but we will also bring them to your respective university gates,” the NANS National Public Relations Officer, Giwa Temitope, said in a statement.
President Tinubu issued a directive on July 31, 2023, instructing officials in all federal institutions of higher learning to avoid arbitrary increases in sundry fees payable and, whenever possible, postpone additional increases to minimise hardship for parents and students.
The University of Lagos’ administration announced an increase in the undergraduate program’s tuition costs on July 21, 2023, citing “prevailing economic realities.”
NANS however noted that on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, it met with the authorities of UNILAG “and asked them to suspend the recently announced fee increment. And we want to commend the fact that the Vice Chancellor did promise that our demands would be carefully considered.”
The student body said similar meetings were being held with the management of other tertiary institutions including Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, the University of Benin, and the University of Ibadan.
“As the umbrella body of the students’ movement, we have swung into action to arrest this inglorious trend of fee hikes, and our interventions which included writing to the Presidency to demand a total halt in the wave of fee hikes had been met with a favourable response.
“As of this moment, the FG has instructed that all tertiary institutions should immediately shelve any plan to increase fees. It was in response to the letter we wrote the Presidency.
“However, we are aware of defiant elements amongst many university authorities. It is the reason that we also took the liberty to write to tertiary institutions that have increased fees,” Giwa added.
