JUST-IN:NSUK Approves réduction in Damage Fee, on students school fee.

The Vice-Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Professor Sa'adatu Hassan Liman, Fellow; UNESCO, ACLS, FIIFP, has announced a downward review of the Damage Fee imposed on students of the University as a aftermath of the skirmish that broke out after the botched Students Union Government election held on the 4th and 5th September 2024.

The Vice-Chancellor made the announcement on Monday 20th January 2025 when she hosted the leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students NANS Zone C, to a parley at the Senate Chamber of the University.

Professor Sa’adatu while defending the imposition of the Five Thousand Naira damage fee slammed on students for destroying University property during the Ill- fated elections stated that the penalty was to serve as a deterrent to students who took part in the demonstration, she however stated that due to the compassion that she has as a mother of all students she has reviewed downward the amount to be paid by students to Four Thousand Five Hundred Naira Only, (4,500).

The Vice-Chancellor while giving reasons for the suspension of the elections explained the results of the last Student Union Government elections was inconclusive and announcing the results would have thrown the University into more chaos as both camps that contested the elections were already claiming victory, a situation that was already polarizing students and the contestants in opposing directions.

Professor Sa’adatu added that it was in the light of the aforementioned factors that a high level panel of inquiry was constituted to investigate the remote and immediate causes that led to the violence that marred the elections, she noted that the committee came up with far reaching decisions that will clean up and sanitize the electoral process and ensure smooth, seamless and violence free elections in the University.

On the other hand the Vice-Chancellor added that part of the recommendation of the high powered committee Is to introduce e-voting system in the future and that will be adopted by the University when it is ready for it.

The Vice-Chancellor emphasized that to avoid any lacuna and ensure that students have a voice in the running of the activities of the University that affects them, the management came up with the Students Representative Council Nasarawa State University, Keffi, model (NSUK-SRC Model) to allow Students to choose their representatives.

The Vice-Chancellor while decrying the confrontational approach of the umbrella Students Union Government body in addressing matters of genuine concerns as it relates to its constituents advised them to embrace dialogue as a viable means of seeking redress and making their voices heard instead of engaging in social media trials.

The Vice-Chancellor also used the opportunity of the meeting to inform the Students Representatives that after due consultations, the management of the University

has banned "signing out ceremonies" in the University, this she stated is to forestall the destruction of morals and infiltration into the University by fraudsters popularly called "Yahoo Boys" who engage in vices that have the tendency to attract criminal elements into the premises of the University.

In their separate responses, the representative of NANS President, Comrade Edoh Gabriel Paul and the Coordinator of NANS Zone C, Comrade Friday Eggah while thanking the Vice-Chancellor for her motherly disposition apologized for their rather unruly behavior, promising that with these explanations she has offered has opened a new vista of communication with the management. They promised to take the resolutions of the meeting back to their constituents.

The meeting was attended by Principal Officers of the University, the Chief Security Officer and Heads of Security Agencies, the Dean of Students Affairs and the delegation of the Students representatives.

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