A chieftain of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia State, Sir Chikwe Udensi has said the government of Abia State did not tell the people the truth when it denied knowledge of the increase in fees of the students of the state-owned university, ABSU.
According to invoices given to some new ABUS students that went viral yesterday, it was seen that undergraduates in some departments had their fees jump from N122,000 Naira to N500,000, others were to pay N400,000 from N112,000 former fees. Law students were also to pay N1m from former fee of N400,000.
The governor of Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu has since ordered a reversal of moves to raise fees of ABSU students, saying the economic realities of the moment does not permit such hike, adding that his office was not consulted before the hike was announced.
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But responding to the development while featuring on a radio programme, Open Parliament in Umuahia monitored by ABN TV on Wednesday, Sir Udensi, an Interpol Systems Consultant said he does believe the defence of Abia State government that it is unaware of the hike.
“I don’t even believe the story of the government, that they are not aware of the increase. It is a lie, I do not believe that the government is not aware that an institution went ahead to unilaterally increase school fees.
“This is a policy decision that ought to be taken by the government, or at the minimal the anticipated approval of the ministry (education).
“To tell me that it was done without the ministry, without the government, I doubt it. If it happened, it means that this government is not functioning”.
He accused the state government of demonstrating weakness by condoning non-adherence to processes and procedures before going ahead to announce fee increase.
He insists that wrong persons are presiding over activities of governance in the state, expressing regret that everything in Abia has been turned upside down.
He further stressed that Abia has exhibited utter disregards to civil service rules and regulations, a problem he said is responsible for several other challenges in the state.
