Rivers State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors’
Forum, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has reversed the school fees payment
structure at the state-owned Rivers State University of Science and Technology
(RSUST). The Governor directed that from now
on students of the university would pay the same amount for tuition whether
they are indigenes of Rivers State or not.
Amaechi announced the payment reversal when he visited RSUST
on Monday for an interactive session with students of the university; and
sensitize them on voters’ registration and collection of permanent voter’s
cards which is scheduled to commence on Friday.
Responding to the students’ questions
and concerns which included the discrimination in school fees among indigenes
and non-indigenes, Governor Amaechi directed the school management to ensure
that all students of the university pay the same amount of fees. “Anybody in Rivers State University
of Science and Technology is an indigene. All of us are Nigerians”, he said,
and directed the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. George Feyii to prepare
a letter to the state university to that effect. “The reason why I made that statement
and I am going to back it up with a letter is that we are all Nigerians. So,
from today, no more discrimination in school fees,” Amaechi stated.
He enjoined the school authority to allow students register
their courses and pay later for those whose fees are not readily available at
the time of registration, in order not to deprive them of studying with their classmates.
He said, “My personal view is,
because of the current economic situation, any student who has money to pay
(for school fees), let him pay. The ones that don’t have money yet, let them
register, and during exams, you collect your money. The reason is that 60 to 70
per cent of you (the students) are from very poor backgrounds. My father was a
retiree when I got into the university. I didn’t have money but school fees was
very cheap”.
He also called on the school
management to grant freedom to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
to exercise their democratic rights in the university. “Allow ASUU, let the lecturers form
their ASUU. I will direct the Commissioner for Education to write to the
university to allow the lecturers congregate and form their union. The law
allows them to do so. That is democracy,” Amaechi said.
Governor Amaechi also used the opportunity to appeal to the
students to be part of INEC’s forthcoming Permanent Voters Card (PVC)
collection and fresh voters registration exercise to enable them exercise their
civic right in next year’s elections.
“I am aware that from Friday, we
would start collecting what they call the permanent voter’s card. I am aware
that after the collection of permanent voter’s card, they would start fresh
registration of voters. That’s part of what brought me (to your university).
“I have come to say to those who are
sixteen, don’t go and vote but those who are up to eighteen, go and vote; but
to vote, you must first and foremost, go to collect your permanent voter’s
card. If you don’t have a permanent voter’s card, then you need to go and
register as they start registration,” he said.
The governor explained that he parted
ways with the ruling PDP because the PDP-led federal government failed to
address the challenges facing Rivers State. “Now, the reason why there is a
disagreement between us and the federal government is one question we have
always been asking in public – can a federal government led by our own brother
who comes from Bayelsa, can they show us one project that they have done in
Rivers State? And I said again to the federal government, if you can’t show us
one, show us half, that is, the one you started and you abandoned and you
forgot it; none, and Rivers State gave our President the highest vote in the
country, 1.8million votes.”
If nothing else, repair our airport.
What have we done against the President that an airport they started the same
time with Abuja, with Lagos, with Enugu. They have finished Lagos, they have
finished Abuja, they have finished Enugu, our own is abandoned, what did we do? “Our oil well in the Kalabari area,
they have taken, so the basic quarrel is that the federal government is not
addressing our problems. So, we said to the federal government, if you have not
done those projects and you have done nothing for Rivers State, why do we need
to remain in PDP and work with the federal government, so we left PDP and
joined APC.”
“We joined APC because we need to get
back our oil wells. So, one thing you owe us is to go and collect your card.
When you collect your card, you must help us do one thing – don’t vote for
PDP,” Amaechi said.
The governor noted that his
administration has positively affected the lives of Rivers people in different
sectors. He said he was impressed with improvements recorded in the institution
and recalled efforts made by his administration to accredit all courses offered
by the university.
“By the time I became governor, sixty
to seventy per cent of your departments and courses and faculties were not
accredited and I said it is either we are ready for a university or we are not ready
for a university. If we are not ready for a university, we close down, but if
we need to educate our children, we need to educate our children. It means that
whatever is the requirement for accreditation in the university, government
must meet it and we met it. They came here, they inspected, they confirmed that
we have met it”.
Culled: dailypost
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