Fee hike: Ado-Ekiti poly gets ultimatum to address students’ grievances

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Southwest Zone D, has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the management of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, to address grievances raised by students over alleged increased institutional charges and lack of accountability.

In a Thursday statement signed by its Coordinator, Comrade Josiah Adeyemo, the association said it had received reports from students and the leadership of the NANS Joint Campus Council, Ekiti Axis, concerning increased institutional charges, inadequate consultation, and concerns about financial accountability and the administration of NELFUND institutional payments.

NANS condemned the handling of the matter by the polytechnic’s management under the Rector, Engr. Dr. Temitope John Alake, describing the alleged imposition of additional financial burdens without adequate consultation and the failure to arrange meaningful engagement with recognised student representatives as gross administrative incompetence and insensitivity.

It said Alake must take responsibility for the decisions and conduct of the administration he leads, adding that students should not have to resort to repeated public agitation before their welfare receives serious attention.

The association said it stood firmly with the Ekiti JCC in demanding the reversal of the disputed increase, arguing that whether management described the payments as school fees, service charges or compulsory levies, the financial burden fell on the same students and their struggling families.

It expressed particular concern about students who applied for NELFUND support on the basis of the previous charges, noting that introducing additional financial obligations after their applications or approvals created uncertainty and risked frustrating the assistance the scheme was intended to provide.

Management, it said, must explain how affected students would be protected and account transparently for institutional payments already received on their behalf.

NANS also expressed dissatisfaction with the circumstances surrounding a meeting invitation allegedly sent by management to the JCC leadership.

According to the report submitted to its office, management announced on a radio programme that it had reached out to the JCC and claimed to have sent an invitation at 10:46 am for a meeting scheduled for 12 noon on October 29.

However, the JCC leadership informed the zonal body that the invitation was sent to neither its chairman nor its general secretary.

The association said even by management’s stated timeline, the notice allowed only one hour and 14 minutes before the proposed meeting, which did not constitute a reasonable opportunity for meaningful engagement, and therefore the JCC’s non-attendance should not be misrepresented as unwillingness to dialogue.

Consequently, the NANS Southwest leadership issued a 72-hour ultimatum, effective from the issuance of the statement, for management to reverse the disputed increase, restore the previous charges and correct affected payment invoices and portals, to convene a proper engagement with the JCC and the Students’ Union leadership with reasonable notice and a clear agenda, to provide an itemised explanation of the previous and revised charges along with the approvals and consultation undertaken, to present a reconciliation of NELFUND institutional payments received and how they had been applied including any refunds due, and to suspend penalties and registration restrictions arising from non-payment of the disputed increase while the matter was being resolved.

The association also demanded accountability on federal intervention funds, citing a published breakdown of the Federal Government’s Needs Assessment Revitalisation Fund which identified the polytechnic as a beneficiary of ₦241.02 million.

It demanded documentary confirmation of the allocation and actual receipts, as well as approved projects, release dates, expenditure to date and implementation timelines.

To monitor the issues, NANS said it had mandated the JCC Ekiti Axis to constitute a Campus Funds and Projects Monitoring Committee, working with the Students’ Union, to request necessary records, arrange inspections of facilities and projects, and submit findings to the Southwest leadership.

It said the committee would examine the reported revitalisation intervention and concerns about possible mismanagement separately against their respective purposes.

NANS warned that should management fail to meet its demands within 72 hours, it would relocate its operational headquarters to the main gate of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, for sustained, peaceful and lawful mass action.

It demanded that no student or student representative be intimidated or victimised for raising grievances, and called on the Governing Council, Federal Ministry of Education, National Board for Technical Education and NELFUND to intervene urgently, stressing that the responsibility to resolve the matter rested squarely with the management under Alake.

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