Following student demonstrations calling for a reassessment of the late registration charge and other fees assessed by the university, the administration of Ekiti State University in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, shut down the institution.
On Tuesday morning, a large group of students with placards in hand had gathered outside to voice their displeasure with the fees, which they claimed were excessive and amounted to extortion.
Students protesting the N5,000 late registration fee they were charged by the institution barricaded the main entrances to the campus, preventing both students and teachers from entering.
The Students’ Union Government Public Relations Officer, Dotun Ogunsanya, who described the fees as an extortion, said, “This is more worrisome especially that we do not enjoy any facility in the school. There has not been power supply within and outside the university premises for many years now.”
However, the university Senate, represented by EKSU Vice Chancellor Prof. Edward Olanipekun, approved the two-week suspension of academic activity on campus starting on Monday.
The Head, Directorate of Information and Corporate Affairs, Bode Olofinmuagun, in a statement, directed all students of the university to “vacate the campus immediately and should not be seen within the premises for the next two weeks.”
