Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has reduced school fees payable by students of Abia State University (ABSU).
The move by the governor was in response to the demands of a House of Assembly member representing Bende North, Chijioke Chukwu and ABSU students by reducing school fees payable by students of Abia origin in the institution.
The governor had, last week, announced that his administration would pay each student of Abia origin of ABSU N30,000 to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on them and their parents.
Chukwu, however, advised Ikpeazu to jettison the idea and rather reduce the school fees payable by students, expressing concerns that the exercise could be laced with fraud.
Equally, Abia students in ABSU, under the aegis of Abia Joint Students Leaders, had appealed to Ikpeazu to reverse his decision and instead covert the sum to their fees and deduct same from source, a move they said will be more impactful to them.
Ikpeazu, in a verified Twitter handle, at the weekend, posted that he had directed ABSU management to deduct the N30,000 pocket money for students of Abia origin from their school fees and credit them accordingly.
“I’ve directed the management of Abia State University, Uturu, to deduct the N30,000 pocket money for students of Abia origin from their school fees as requested by the students. We’ll continue to listen and do whatever is necessary to ensure our students excel,” he said.