The Senate of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, would soon meet to consider resumption of academic activities in the university.
This is as the acting Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Asomwan Sonnie Adagbonyin, denied increasing school fees by the University.
He announced this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the Edo State council secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benin City, on the activities at the University.
He explained that the reported increase in school fees, which led students to protest and resultant closure of the institution, was false, adding that fresh students had their tuition fees increased while returning students’ fees remained the same.
“There is no increment in tuition fees of returning students of AAU,” the Vice Chancellor stressed, pointing out that students of the university have been given opportunity to pay their school fees in two instalments to reduce the burden of paying once.
He said the AAU management decided to close the school as the students’ protest went violent, with some of the students attacking fellow students and lectures, inflicting injuries on them on campus, as well as preventing commendation service for a late Professor from holding on campus.
Professor Adagbonyin further explained that following the infractions, management dissolved the Students Union Government (SUG) leadership and set up a Caretaker Committee in its place, vowing that erring students would be held to account for their actions.
He described the political dimension the protest at the AAU took as “a deeply entrenched conspiracy” and advised those who have turned the university to a war zone to give peace a chance, just as he said a lot of misinformation was in the air and urged members of the public to get correct information from the University’s website and stop the falsehood.
The Vice Chancellor while announcing that 90 Medical Doctors who recently graduated from the university would soon be inducted, debunked media reports that the institution was offering fake degrees in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.
He said the university has already paid the prescribed fees to the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for the re-accreditation of the courses.